After the Storm
by Skarla
Summary: Post-Aizen, Soul Society is in shambles. There are 3 vacant Captain's positions, and no Shinigami qualified to fill them - or are there? Anxty Hitsugaya/Rukia, and some  skip-able  Ichigo/Renji. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

After the Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, Renji would be naked more often, Hyorinmaru would be materialised all the time and Hitsugaya would get more screentime.

Author's note: The first chapter of a plot bunny that materialised in lectures today. Despite the fact that it is currently gen, there will be pairings later on. Ishida/Orihime is a certain one, but that will be strictly background. I'm playing with the idea of Hitsugaya/Rukia, for the age similarities and the general ice affinity. This leaves me with Ichigo/Renji... mwaha... purely because I cannot write Byakuya for too long. [Sorry Bracket]. Anyhow, as the fic evolves, the pairings will appear in the summary.

Now, on with the story!

Chapter 1:

Yamamoto sou-taichou looked around at the assembled Captains and Vice-Captains he had called together. A week previously, Aizen and his fellow deserters had been brought down above the streets of Karakura town, and now the battle scars were fading thanks to the 4th Squad. However, large gaps still loomed in the line-up, gaps that needed to be filled. A vice-captain was supposed to be a substitute for their Captain in an emergency, not a replacement. Now that the war was over, there were procedures to be adhered too, and neither of the three Vice-captains in question had attained bankai.

"Captains and Vice-Captains of the 13 Protection Squads," Yamamoto began. "You have done well, and the threat that Aizen represented towards Soul Society and the real world has been nullified. However, there are still problems caused by the traitor that must be seen too. We need Captains for the 3rd, 5th and 9th Squads, and the position of Vice-Captain in the 13th squad has been vacant for too long."

At this, Captain Ukitake opened his mouth to protest, but a warning glance from Kyouraku stopped him from speaking. Sighing a little, he nodded back at his friend. However fond he was of them, his two third seats were not suited for the role Shiba Kaien had left vacant, and Kuchiki Rukia was not ready for the position, and would not be for a number of decades. Besides, her elder brother had vehemently opposed the idea of her even being promoted to a seated position; he would never allow her to become a Vice-Captain.

"There are no Shinigami in Soul Society capable of filling those positions, which we need filled if we are to rebuild after the destruction," Yamamoto continued. "So, I propose that we look backwards rather than forwards. Captains Isshin and Urahara will be invited to return to Soul Society, as well as the substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo... and the Vizard led by Hirako Shinji."

As he expected, there was an immediate uproar following that announcement, every Captain and Vice-Captain protesting loudly. Instead, Yamamoto focused on the Shinigami who were not reacting to his statement. Zaraki Kenpatchi just looked pleased, Kuchiki had his arm out, preventing his fiery Vice-Captain from surging forward to throttle Kurotsuchi and Hitsugaya looked like he had a headache. Yamamoto didn't blame him.

"SILENCE!" Yamamoto roared above the babble. "I have told you of the plan. Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia, as the two Shinigami most familiar with the area, will be the ones to carry the formal acceptance letters to the parties concerned. Dismissed!"

xxx

Renji was having a hard time gauging his captain's mood as they walked away from the meeting, back to 5th Squad barracks. Byakuya didn't seem pleased or displeased, emotions usually conveyed by a slight quirk to his lip or his right eyebrow. Perhaps he did not care? No... If Urahara was coming back to Soul Society, that meant that Yoruichi would be visiting a lot more frequently, and Renji couldn't imagine Byakuya being overjoyed about that.

"Na, Taichou-"

"Renji. Ukitake-Taichou will be briefing Rukia shortly. Pack for a short trip, I imagine it will take several days for the persons concerned to make a decision and settle their affairs."

"Yes Taichou."

"I will contact you one hour before the opening of the senkai gate. Until then you are on leave. Understood."

"Yes, thanks Taichou."

"Dismissed."

Renji flash-stepped away, darting in the direction of his own quarters. He often joked to Rukia that the best part of his promotion to Vice-Captain of the 5th squad had been getting his own room, rather than sharing with Ikkaku, Yumichika and Iba as he had been before. The reality was that he disliked having his own place. It was lonely, being on his own. At least when sharing there was always someone to talk to, even if they did have to keep the place freakishly clean because of Yumichika's fastidious nature.

Renji's quarters were not particularly messy, they just looked un-lived in. He spent more time hanging out at the bar, in the office or taking tea at the Kuchiki mansion. The red-head grabbed the bag Ishida had lent him last time he had visited Karakura, after listening to him moan for half an hour about all the extra junk he had accumulated while on assignment. He would have to buy his own this trip, and return the Quincy's. Blue with a large white cross on it wasn't his style anyway.

Several changes of clothes later, after having remembered this time to pack his hairbrush and extra hairbands – he didn't want to have to borrow Ururu's again, Renji was more than ready to head to the bar for one more night of getting sloshed before being predominantly on duty for days. Not that he had a moral issue with drinking on duty if that duty was non-lethal, but Rukia would first smack him, then tell her brother and Renji didn't feel like enduring Byakuya's wrath that month.

Headband tied firmly around his forehead, he left the barracks and made his way through the winding maze of streets. Hopefully the others would be there already, and would take the news that he was disappearing on them _again_ in good grace. Hopefully...

xxx

Ichigo waited impatiently by the river for a senkai gate to appear. It was raining, he was getting soaked, and he didn't like the river in the rain. It reminded him too much of that day, and he never, ever wanted to be reminded of that day if he didn't have to be.

"Bloody Shinigami! Out of all the places in Karakura to appear in, they have to appear in this one. Why not under cover somewhere? Urahara's place would do. A bus stop. Somewhere where I wouldn't have to get soaked!"

Fuming, Ichigo began to pace, the sodden grass squelching under his trainers. A slight shift in the atmosphere made him pause and peer out over the water. Finally, something was happening. The two sets of doors materialised and slid back, emitting two hell butterflies quickly followed by Rukia and Renji, carrying luggage.

"Finally! It's raining, in case you hadn't noticed," Ichigo said frostily. "I am soaked. Can't you people be more specific with your arrival times? I've been waiting for twenty minutes!"

"My apologies, Ichigo. There was a woman's society meeting that ran late," Rukia said, not bothering to bow. Ichigo's frown deepened.

"You made me wait here while you went to some meeting?"

Renji nodded. "Terrible, isn't it? I was hanging around too, but at least it isn't raining in Seireitei."

"Come on, let's get under cover. Rukia, you are staying with Orihime this time, I am fed up of having you in my closet. Renji, you have a choice; mine or Urahara's."

Renji considered this for a minute. "Given the choice between being called a freeloader and sleeping on the floor I'll pick the floor."

"Good choice. I'll tell my family you're visiting. You'll love my sister's cooking."

"Is she a good cook?" Renji asked, shouldering Rukia's bag for her.

"The best!"

They began to walk along the path, Ichigo silently offering to take one of the bags from Renji while Rukia walked ahead, oblivious. The rain beat down, pooling in the dips and cracks of the path. Each footstep seemed to splash.

"Ichigo," Rukia said over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"I should tell you why we're here. We've come to ask Urahara, the Vizard, yourself and-"

Ichigo stopped dead in the middle of the path. Renji walked into him and bounced back, cursing. "What? Why?" he interrupted.

"Because there is no-one in Soul Society qualified to fill the empty positions within the timeframe we have. Four squads have important, high ranking positions that need filling, and there aren't enough Shinigami with the power to fill them."

"What about you?" Ichigo protested, water dripping from his hair.

"Sode no Shirayuki might be powerful, but I do not have the experience to handle her. Renji is only a vice-captain because he spent all his effort training, and he was only made one a short time ago. If I train very hard I might be ready to take the vice-captain's test in a year, but we don't have a year. We need to start rebuilding now, and we cannot do that and effectively fight hollows when we're as crippled as we are."

Ichigo shook his head, spraying water droplets in a wide arc. "That's all very well. Urahara would give you one captain-class Shinigami, and there are four within the Vizard. You only have three positions that need filling so why do you need me?"

Rukia shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just following orders."

"If they told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"

Rukia stared curiously. "Of course I would. There would probably be hollows beneath it."

"Idiot. I meant, don't you ever question your orders? Why do you need me? What about my life, my family? What about Karin and Yuzu?"

Rukia paled. "There's something else."

Ichigo glared at her. Rukia dropped her eyes before continuing. "We have also been ordered to speak to Kurosaki Isshin, offering him the position of Captain in the 3rd division."

xxx

An uncomfortable silence reigned over the dinner table, and Karin didn't know why. Ichi-nii had shown up about twenty minutes beforehand, sopping wet and dragging an equally wet red-head in with him. Literally dragging; the tattooed guy had been saying something about staying at a shop. Once in the front door Ichigo had yelled "family meeting" and stomped into the kitchen, accepting the towels that Yuzu handed him and his friends with poor grace.

Slightly drier, Ichigo hung the towel with exaggerated care over the radiator, making sure that it was hanging evenly with no creases. He took the red-head's and did the same. Seeing as her brother was failing with the introductions, Karin decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Hello. I am Karin, this is Yuzu. Who are you?"

The big, tattooed man did a very good impression of a rabbit about to be run over. Karin could sense Yuzu supressing a giggle.

"I... um... Abarai Renji, pleased to meet you. I... um... I have a message."

"From who?" Isshin asked, walking into the kitchen. "Why are you here?"

Karin was shocked to see her normally scatty parent acting so... normal. His eyes were narrowed and fixed on Abarai, he looked dangerous. She hadn't seen him look this serious in a long time.

"I turn a blind eye to you creeping in and out of Ichigo's room," Isshin continued. "He's old enough to look after himself. But now you're sitting at the table; this is different. What is going on?"

Karin watched carefully. Abarai looked like he really didn't want to open his mouth. Ichigo was glaring from next to the radiator, and Isshin was staring intensely from the doorway.

"I... have a message from Yamamoto Sou-taichou. You are formally invited to return to Soul Society and take up command of the 3rd Squad."

Karin frowned. "Who's that? Is this a job offer?"

Abarai looked at her and the sorrow in his eyes made her want to cringe. "Sort of."

A chair creaked as Isshin sat down. "Ichigo, sit. We need to discuss this."

"Dad, what? You can't be seriously considering this offer!" Ichigo protested, his fists clenching so hard she heard one of his knuckles crack. "And don't you have some explaining to do? What the hell is all this about you being a former Captain?!"

"Of course I am considering it. They wouldn't be asking if things weren't serious. I left a long time ago, and they are bending their pride to offer at all. Sit."

Ichigo sat down, reluctance echoed in his every gesture.

"Ichigo, there's something I haven't told you yet," Abarai said quietly, looking at his hands.

"What?" Ichigo snarled.

"They.... Yamamoto Sou-taichou wishes to promote you from Substitute Shinigami to... to Vice-captain of the 13th."

Isshin nodded. "A worthy post for someone of your level."

"Dad!"

Yuzu stared around the table in confusion. "Could someone please explain what is going on? Should I make some tea?"

"No, Yuzu," Ichigo said. "I'll make it. Dad can explain, it's his story."

Isshin sighed and rested his chin in his hands. "A long time ago, before you were born, I died."

"Dad, is this some sort of joke?"

"Shush! Listen to the story. I died, and I woke in Soul Society, which is where all souls go after death. While in Soul Society, I discovered that I had power. I went to the Academy and studied, eventually becoming a member of the 8th division, under Kyouraku Shunsui. Years passed, I became more powerful, and one day I became Captain of the 10th division."

"10th?" Ichigo asked, twisting around and nearly pouring boiling water on his hand.

"Yes. You didn't think the little genius had been Captain for long, did you?"

"I suppose." Ichigo turned back to making the tea, but Karin could tell from the set of his shoulders that he was listening intently.

"One day there was a disturbance in Karakura. My squad was called to investigate. During that mission, I met my beloved Masaki. I left Soul Society to be with her. They weren't happy about it, but I did not have family obligations to stop me from doing what I wanted. I married Masaki, and lived happily with her."

Ichigo placed the cups of tea on the table. "That's it?" he asked.

"Pretty much."

Ichigo whacked Isshin on the head. "You're a crap storyteller." He turned to look at Karin and Yuzu. "So, now, there's been some trouble in Soul Society, and three of the Captains have um, gone. So they need people to fill the gaps, and they want our dad to help."

"And you, Ichi-nii," Yuzu pointed out.

"Yeah. And me. But we can't."

"Why not? They need your help, you said."

"Yes, but we can't leave you."

Karin and Yuzu looked at each other. "We need to talk about this," they said together, leaving the table and running up the stairs to their room. Behind them, Karin heard the arguments erupt. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Abarai dodging the kettle.

"Man. Sometimes I think we're the adults..." she muttered. "Come on, Yuzu. We need to think about this."

Omake:

Rukia: Inoue, thank you for letting me stay.

Orihime: Oh, it's no trouble! I need someone to help me eat this marshmallow and mushroom lasagna I made!

Rukia: …I think I should have stayed with Urahara...

Orihime: There's green bean and fennel ice-cream for dessert! With whipped cream and gravy!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, Renji would be naked more often, Hyorinmaru would be materialised all the time and Hitsugaya would get more screentime.

I would like to say thank you to my lovely beta-reader, "The Knights Comma Black" who shall henceforth be referred to the the notes as TKCB.

Chapter 2

Rukia approached Urahara's shop with a churning, swirling feeling in her gut. Instead of nerves, she blamed it on the dinner Orihime had cooked the night before. She could feel her stomach heave at the memory. Making a mental note to insist on cooking next time, Rukia marched up the steps and slid the door open.

"Welcome!" Tessai boomed.

"Good morning. Is Urahara-san in?" Rukia asked politely.

"Yes. Please, come in."

"Thank you for having me."

Rukia carefully took off her shoes and lined them up neatly at the back of the shop before following Tessai into the tea room.

"Rukia-san! Welcome!" Urahara cried, waving his fan in the air. "Ururu, make some more tea. I hope that this is a social visit?"

"I'm afraid not," Rukia said as she accepted a cup from Ururu.

"Ah. Business then. What can I do for you? We haven't picked up on anything unusual lately here."

Rukia placed her tea cup carefully on the table and pulled a roll of paper out of her sleeve. "I have here a formal invitation from Yamamoto Sou-Taichou, inviting you to return to Soul Society as Captain of the 9th Division."

Urahara spewed his tea across the table. "You have _what_?"

"Um...."

Urahara grabbed the paper from her, unrolled it and began to read furiously. "Hm... looks like Yamamoto has finally come to his senses... wow, there's an almost apology here! Hm.... Rukia-san?"

"Yes?"

"I need to consider this further. But tentatively..."

Rukia waited, holding her breath. She discovered that she had no idea what he was about to say. Perhaps he was very attached to the shop? But Soul Society was where all Shinigami belonged. Even though the unusual spirit density of the Karakura area made it more comfortable, a bit like the less populated parts of Rukongai, nothing compared to Seireitei itself. How could he not want to return? But then there was the issue of the circumstances surrounding his departure, a topic she still hadn't been properly briefed on. How was she supposed to predict what he was going to say when she didn't have all the facts? Just in time to prevent Rukia's brain from completely melting down, Urahara spoke.

"My answer might be yes."

Urahara left the room, and Rukia let out the breath that she had been holding. She reached for the tea, her fingers shaking slightly. Now all she had to do was convince Shinji and his gang to return with her. She hoped that she would survive to see the sunset.

Rukia set her empty cup on the table and returned to the shop for her shoes. She would need Inoue's help to get into the warehouse where the Vizard lived, and hopefully the bubbly red-head would have finished her shift at the clothing store where she worked by then. If not, Rukia could always kill some time by trying on a few outfits.

xxx

Renji wanted to run away. He wished that he had stayed at Urahara's; being called a freeloader couldn't be worse than this tension. He could feel the spiritual pressure in the air – he though that was probably Ichigo's fault.

"My lovely daughters, I have decided to return to soul society temporarily. Seeing as they are asking me to return, I think I can get away with making some demands in return for my service. One of those will be to visit you every weekend, without fail. It'll be as if I were working in another city."

"I'm going too," Ichigo said, sighing. "Being a substitute Shinigami messed up my school grades anyway, I'd have to repeat the last two years. Being a Vice-Captain is at least something I'm qualified to do."

To Renji's surprise, Yuzu and Karin just nodded. "We talked about this last night. We know that strange things are happening, we've both experienced them. If you can do something to stop it, then that is a good thing. Not everyone has a big brother like Ichi-nii to look out for them. Besides, it's not like you do much parenting anyhow."

Ichigo snorted, and ignored the tears that began to spill theatrically down Isshin's face. "Got that right. However mature you are, though, I'm not leaving you on your own all week."

Karin frowned. "So... do we have to move?"

"No," Ichigo replied, shaking his head. "My friend Inoue Orihime has an apartment of her own that she can't really afford at the moment. The rent has been eating into her inheritance since her brother died. I would like her to move in here, so you'll have someone who is almost an adult to keep an eye on things." Ichigo moved to crouch by Yuzu's chair, looking very serious. "Yuzu-chan, this is important. Do not let Inoue cook under any circumstances!"

"Understood, Ichi-nii. Will you come visit every weekend too?"

"Of course I will."

Renji slipped out into the hallway, to give the family a private moment together. He felt an urgent vibration through his jeans, and pulled out his communicator. _Rukia_. He flipped it open and put it to his ear, taking the stairs two at a time until he arrived in Ichigo's room.

"Hey, Rukia, what's up?"

_[I spoke to Urahara. He said yes. Sort of.]_

"That's good news. Ichigo and Kurosaki-san said yes too. They're going to invite Orihime-san to live in their house, and visit on the weekends."

_[So long as Orihime doesn't cook, that sounds like a workable plan.]_

"We don't have to worry about that; Yuzu-chan is an excellent cook."

_[I'm heading to meet Orihime now, then we'll go see the Vizard.]_

"Good luck with that."

_[I think I'm going to need it.]_

"All right. Call me when you're done. Please let Orihime-san know that the Kurosaki family want to talk to her."

_[I will. Bye, Renji.]_

"Bye."

xxx

Rukia snapped her communicator shut and stared at herself in the mirror. She was clad in a pair of pink dungarees, the colour reminding her of her elder brother's attack, with a white Chappy appliqué sewn across the front pocket. It fit like it had been designed for her.

"Orihime-san?" she called, poking her head out of the changing room. She would usually drop the honorific, but this was Orihime's workplace, not her flat. Despite the fact that they were the only two in the shop, a customer could come in the door at any moment.

"Yes, Rukia-san?" Orihime asked, bouncing over.

"Where do you get the clothes from? This outfit..."

Orihime took in what Rukia was wearing and her eyes widened. "Well," she said slowly, "we get clothing from a few different independent sources, that's what makes the shop so unique. That one... Ishida made that one."

Rukia felt her eyebrows rise almost to her hairline. "What? The Quincy?"

Orihime nodded. "Yes. He makes quite a few of the clothes in shop. I think... I think he might have designed that one with you in mind."

Rukia made up her mind. "All right. I'd better buy it then."

Orihime clapped her hands and bounced a few times. "Yay! I get to use my friends and family discount for you! I haven't had a chance yet – Tatsuki says that everything in here is too girly for her, though she promised that if she ever went on a date she would shop here for the clothes."

Rukia decided not to change back into her previous clothes. Instead she ripped the tag from the dungarees and handed it to Orihime before bundling her own clothes up neatly.

"I'll get you a bag for those!" Orihime sang out, carring the tag to the cash register and placing it safely on top before rummaging underneath the counter. She reappeared with a bag, which she handed to Rukia, before tapping the code from the tag into the register. Rukia unfolded the dress that she had been wearing before a little so that she could get to the money in her pocket.

"Oh, I spoke to Ichigo," she said as she handed the notes over.

"What did he say?"

"He said that he and his father would be coming back to Soul Society with us. They wanted to talk to you."

"To me?" Orihime asked in surprise, handing Rukia her change.

"Yes, I think they want you to move in to their house. Karin and Yuzu will be all alone in it."

Orihime nodded. "And Ichigo knows that I can't really afford my flat."

Rukia looked at her in surprise. "You can't? I never knew that!"

"Yes. After our parents died, we had to sell the house. Aniki rented the flat. We could afford it then, with his job. After he died, I've had to use the money he saved to pay the rent. It's almost all gone, and I can't access the money from our parents until I turn 18. I wasn't sure what to do.... I was thinking of moving in with Tatsuki's family, but I didn't want to be a burden."

Rukia took Orihime firmly by the shoulders. "If you move into the Kurosaki household, you won't be a burden. You'll be helping them. Karin and Yuzu haven't had a mother figure for years, and with a little studying you'll be able to help run the clinic, they'll just have to start turning away the more serious cases. Ishida might help you out, his dad is a doctor."

"Mmm..." Orihime agreed. "It might be fun!"

Rukia smiled. "You bet it will. Now, where's the girl who is supposed to replace you? Your shift ended five minutes ago!"

xxx

Shinji was bored. He stood on a crumbling spar of rock and stared down at his fellow Vizard, currently squabbling over what kind of barbecue to... barbecue. The problem was that there wasn't a lot to do in the real world. Not like there had been back when he was Captain of the 5th squad. He almost wished that another set of enemies would appear, because at least then he would be doing something...

Three knocks echoed down into the training area. Shinji jumped down from his perch and made a beeline for the stairs. Finally, something had happened.

Shinji wasn't surprised to see Inoue standing there, but Kuchiki was a surprise. He bowed theatrically, sweeping his grey cap off of his head with a flourish. "Inoue-san, Kuchiki-san, this is a surprise and a delight. What can I do for ya?"

"Good afternoon, Shinji-san!" Orihime said cheerfully. "Rukia-san has a message for you."

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "For me? I'm honoured. Please, come in and have some food."

He led the two girls down the staircase, where they were immediately mobbed by the rest of his rowdy gang. As he watched the exuberant greetings, he wondered if everyone was as bored as he was. They certainly seemed to be making the most out of the unexpected visit.

"Rukia-san?" he asked quietly.

Rukia turned to him, a chicken drumstick clasped gingerly in her hand. "Yes, Shinji-san?"

"I believe you had a message for me?"

Rukia's eyes widened comically, and she turned frantically, trying to find a place to put the chicken leg. Shinji watched her calmly, enjoying the blush that spread over her cheeks. Rukia finally settled for whipping out a handkerchief, laying it on a rock and setting the chicken leg on it. Sucking the hot grease from her fingers, she reached into her hakama and pulled out a roll of paper.

"Here you go, Shinji-san."

Shinji unfurled the paper and began to scan the neat script. Yamamoto... invitation to return... apologies for all past misunderstandings... creation of a special squad under the insignia of the 5th division, which would require careful management after the actions of it's previous Captain.

"Guys. Guys! GUYS!" Shinji screamed. "Come look at this!"

Hiyori threw her sandal at his head, but he ignored the pain in favour of waving the paper in her face.

"What are you talking about, idiot?" she snapped.

"Read it."

Hiyori's dark brown eyes scanned the page. She read quickly, then shoved the paper at Lisa. "Read it. You'll never believe it if I told you."

"What is going on?" Mashiro whined.

"Wait your turn!" Hiyori snapped. "If I tried to tell you you'd just get confused." Hiyori whirled, grabbed Shinji by the elbow and dragged him away. Once they were behind a suitably large rock, she abruptly turned serious.

"We have to accept."

"I know," Shinji replied, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "If we turn them down we might never get another chance, right now could be our only opening."

"Plus it's gotten pretty boring here," Hiyori remarked thoughtfully. "Most of the hollows steer clear of the place these days, those that don't get dealt with almost before we have time to get out of the door. Back in Seireitei there'll be patrols to run and new troops to terrorise."

"Hell, we could even teach a class on Vizard at the Academy."

"Did I read the note right? Are we really getting 5th squad?"

"Yup," Shinji nodded enthusiastically. "They can't trust any of Aizen's subordinates, they might have been corrupted. Even the rank and file aren't completely trusted, and any seated officer is currently having their lives taken apart by a special team from 2nd and 12th working together."

Hiyori shuddered. "There's a scary thought. I've heard the stories about that Kurotsuchi guy."

"Anyway, in this scenario, the best thing to do is what they've done; invite the former captain to return. They know I'm trustworthy now, we were all victims of Aizen after all, even if the arsehole did inadvertently make us stronger."

Shinji leant against the rock. "The others might not see it this way." He could hear the familiar sounds of an argument brewing on the other side of the rock, complete with Inoue's worried voice pleading.

"Better get Inoue and the Shinigami out before things heat up," Hiyori said. "You see them out, I'll go argue our side in the argument."

"What should I tell them?" Shinji asked. Hiyori slapped him in the face with her sandal.

"How am I supposed to know, idiot? Just tell them that we'll have to discuss it and we'll let them know later."

Shinji rubbed his cheek. "Owch! Hmph, fine."

Hiyori grinned ferociously. "Into the breach go I!"

xxx

Omake:

Rukia: I hate drumsticks....

Orihime: Why? They're really tasty!

Rukia: I always get grease everywhere. It's inelegant. Nii-sama would never forgive me if he saw me eating one.

Orihime: But... Kuchiki-san isn't here.

Rukia: That's not the point!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, Renji would be naked more often, Hyorinmaru would be materialised all the time and Hitsugaya would get more screentime.

Beta'd by TKCB. Arigato gozaimasu!

The arrival of the yaoi, if you turn your head sideways and squint. Warning, readers, there is a small amount of yaoi-ish hinting (of the IchiRen variety) planned for this chapter. For het lovers, the HitsuRuki will be arriving next chapter. Promise. I'm the kind of author that has to lay the foundation for a relationship... I can't just dive into the smut in a multi-chapter fic.

Chapter 3

Ichigo stormed into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him, startling Renji, who had been reading a manga that someone, probably Rukia, had left on the floor.

"I cannot believe this!" the orange-haired teenager complained, bending over Renji's prone form to better shout in his face. "This is all your fault!"

"Hey, hey!" Renji protested, scooting away until he had his back against the desk. "It wasn't my idea! Besides, I thought you were cool with it?"

"I was hardly going to cause a scene in front of my little sisters when _D__ad_ has apparently decided that this is all perfectly ok!" Ichigo ranted, leaning forward until he again intruded on Renji's personal space.

"Well, then, shouldn't ya be takin' this out on ya Dad, not me?" Renji growled, slipping back in the speech patterns he had been trying to train out of himself as his anger grew. He knew that Ichigo had every right to be annoyed, but that didn't mean that the teen had to get up in his personal space, eyes flashing with anger locked on Renji's own. Renji felt his reiatsu flaring slightly as his control slipped, and the warning appeared to be enough to make Ichigo back off.

The orange-haired teenager sat back on his heels, rubbing his palms over his face. "Sorry, Renji."

"Don't worry about it."

Ichigo moved to lean against the side of his bed, stretching his legs out towards the wardrobe, and Renji thought that it seemed safe enough to sit beside him. The redhead crossed his legs neatly and stared at his socks. It was strange to wear colourful socks after the endless white of the tabi.

Ichigo sighed. "I mean it though. Just because Yamamoto decided to send you and Rukia to tell us doesn't mean I should be mad at you for his message."

Renji shrugged. "I can understand why you're mad."

"The Vizard will never agree."

"They might."

Ichigo turned to face Renji. "Are you insane? I heard what they said at the last battle. They made it very clear that they were only fighting against Aizen, not with Soul Society."

"I heard from Rukia, who got it from Ukitake-taichou, that Shinji told Yamamoto-sou-taicho that they were with you."

Ichigo's brown eyes widened. "With me?"

"Yup," Renji affirmed, grinning. He lifted his hand and patted Ichigo's spiky hair. "How's it feel to be the leader of a Vizard army?"

Ichigo scowled and ducked. "Oi! Don't mess up my hair."

"It's really soft," Renji mused, staring at his fingers. "Do you use conditioner or something? I wouldn't have thought it worth bothering with, for hair as short as yours."

To Renji's surprise, Ichigo blushed. "So what? Yuzu buys it anyway, so I might as well use it. Are you telling me that you don't condition?"

"Of course I do. If I didn't, my hair would be a tangled snarl of knots after every battle," Renji pointed out. "I'd better go see if the Vizard have eaten Rukia yet."

Ichigo scrambled to his feet as Renji headed for the window. "Renji, wait."

"What?"

"Um... it was kinda nice talking to you."

Ichigo was blushing again, but Renji thought that it was probably a bad idea to point that out. He felt strangely happy that Ichigo liked spending time with him. The kid reminded him a little of Shuuhei, in a good way, and was surprisingly easy company when he was relaxed.

"We'll have to do it again some time then," he said eventually. "Tell Yuzu I'll make sure to be home for dinner."

"I will."

Renji looked back once as he flashed away, and caught a glimpse of Ichigo standing in his bedroom window looking after him. _You know... _he thought to himself. _Ichigo is kinda cute when he's like that..._

xxx

Rukia and Orihime were walking back towards Orihime's house when Rukia sensed Renji's familiar reiatsu heading their way. "Renji's coming."

Orihime paused in the middle of the street, her head tilted to one side. "Oh yes!" she said, a look of wonder upon her face. "He's all hot and... scrunched up."

Rukia laughed, never having heard her best friend's reiatsu described in such a way before. "I suppose he is a bit tangled, he appears to be confused about something."

"Confused?" Orihime asked, looking confused herself. "Why would Abarai-san be confused?"

Rukia shook her head. "I have no idea. Shush now, he'll be here in a second."

As she predicted, Renji stepped casually out of an alleyway just ahead of them and waved. "Oi! Rukia, Inoue-san!" he called.

"Good afternoon, Abarai-san!" Orihime called back, jogging to meet him. Rukia followed at a more sedate pace.

"Everyone's been told now," she said as she caught up to them. "We should report back and find out how long we should wait."

"Probably not long, knowing them." Renji sighed. "Inoue-san, would you please return with me to the Kurosaki household? They want to talk to you."

"Oh, but what about Rukia-san?" Orihime asked, turning to stare at Rukia with worried eyes. Rukia smiled brightly at her friend.

"Don't worry about me! I'll go back to your apartment and report to Soul Society."

Renji nodded. "Tell them that the Kurosaki's acceptance is conditional. The conditions mentioned so far are that they are allowed to visit Karin and Yuzu every weekend, and I think Isshin is only accepting so long as the position is temporary. As soon as Kira, or someone else, is ready to take over the position of Captain, he's out of there."

"Ok," Rukia said, making a mental note of his words. "I'll talk to you later then. Orihime-san, I'll have dinner ready for when you get back, so make sure you don't accept any dinner invitations from Yuzu."

"Understood!" Orihime chirped. "Come on, Abarai-san, let's go!"

Rukia walked away in the direction of Orihime's flat, while Renji and Orihime turned left. Behind her, she could just make out Renji protesting.

"You can call me by my first name, you know! You've patched me up often enough!"

xxx

The Kurosaki household looked peaceful from the outside. Renji prayed that the same would be true of the inside. Inoue was babbling on about something, but Renji had tuned her out several streets ago. She didn't seem to need much encouragement to carry on talking about whatever it was she was talking about. Renji's thoughts were centred on Ichigo.

For all their arguing, he had always liked the orange-haired teenager, and now that it looked like Ichigo was moving to Soul Society, a whole new range of possibilities opened up. He could show Ichigo where to get the best food, his favourite sunglasses shop, and where the most reliable tattooist in Rukongai was. They could go out drinking and socialising, and Renji wouldn't feel as out of place as he did in the Real World. Renji had always hated having to ask other people for help, but he was so out of his depth in Karakura when they weren't fighting that he found himself constantly doing exactly what he hated. At least Ichigo never made fun of him for not knowing what a vending machine was, or for being confused as to why the boards at his school were white rather than black.

"Come on, Abarai-san!" Inoue's cheerful voice broke him out of his daydream.

Renji blinked, realising that he had been staring at Ichigo's front door for a good few minutes. "Sorry!" he said quickly, lifting a hand to knock.

"VIIIIIIISITOOOOORS!"

Isshin's bellow of welcome was warning enough for Renji and Inoue to step to one side, avoiding the door as it swung violently open. Isshin ended up sprawled full length over the pavement outside, bleeding neatly into the gutter.

Ichigo stuck his head out and peered around. "Ah, it's you. Cool. Come on in," he said politely. Renji gestured for Inoue to precede him and followed her inside, taking off his trainers and putting them neatly against the wall.

"Yo, Ichigo!" he called.

Ichigo turned around and tilted his head to one side in question. "Mmm?"

"I'm gonna go finish that manga. You don't need me here for this conversation."

"Ok," Ichigo nodded. "I'll come find you when we're done. Pops can walk Orihime home while Yuzu cooks dinner."

Inoue immediately began to wave her hands frantically. "No, no, I'm fine! I can walk myself home!" she protested.

"I will not hear of it!" Isshin roared, flying in through the front door. His shirt was stained slightly with blood, but overall he didn't look too bad for his trip. "A future daughter of mine shall not walk home alone in the dark! There are perverts out there!"

"But-"

Renji quickly ran up the stairs, leaving Ichigo to mediate the argument. He hoped that it wouldn't take too long; he was hungry and he knew that Yuzu wouldn't make dinner until their little talk was over.

xxx

The next afternoon, after a morning of explanations and phone calls to various companies, Isshin, Ichigo, Renji and Rukia assembled at Urahara's shop. Ishida's dad had somehow been persuaded to let Orihime join the basic nursing class he held at his hospital, and to provide a temporary replacement doctor for the clinic. Ichigo wasn't sure if he wanted to know how that had been accomplished, the half of the conversation that he had overheard had been... odd, to say the least.

"Do you think they'll come?" Renji asked Rukia quietly.

"I don't know. Maybe," she replied. "Ask Urahara, he probably has a better idea than we do."

"How come?"

"He's known them for longer."

They entered the shop, squinting in the dim light, and made their way down to the secret basement. Ichigo wondered whether this was really necessary, as Rukia could just open a senkai gate wherever she wanted, but he supposed that it might have something to do with Urahara, or perhaps himself. He was technically the only alive person in the room. Tessai would have to put his body into stasis, or something.

"Welcome everyone!" Urahara greeted them cheerfully. "I take it everything has been arranged?"

"What?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"Well, I assume that arrangements would be needed, to look after Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan."

"All the problems have been solved," Isshin replied. "How about you?"

"Oh, Tessai-san will be looking after the shop, as well as Ururu and Jinta."

"Good luck to him," Renji muttered. Ichigo turned to share a long-suffering look with the red-head.

"I feel for the guy, I really do," Ichigo whispered. Renji grinned in response.

"You know, it's going to be really cool to have you in Seireitei with us," he said quietly. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too," Ichigo said, looking a little guilty. "I shouldn't, because of all the things I'll be leaving behind, but it'll be nice to be around people who understand me."

"No more hiding," Renji pointed out.

"Yeah, no more hiding."

They stopped talking as Urahara approached, waving his cane at Ichigo. "Out of your body now. Tessai is going to place it into a special box, should be nice and fresh for your return every weekend."

Ichigo dodged the cane heading for his forehead, frowning. "I want Rukia to do it," he said.

Rukia turned, her violet eyes wide in surprise. "Ichigo?" she questioned, feeling in her pocket for the glove.

"You were the first," Ichigo told her. He could feel himself blushing, but his Dad was nodding in approval, already out of his body and standing in his own Shinigami uniform, with a battered white haori fastened over his shoulder. "I agree, Son. Rukia-chan should do it."

"All right," Rukia said, pulling on the glove and flexing her fingers. "Here we go!"

As she had done many times before, she took a short run-up and leapt, aiming her hand at the centre of Ichigo's chest. There was the odd moment when she fell both through and past him, and then he was standing there in his Shinigami uniform, his body lying on the ground behind him. Tessai appeared and hoisted Ichigo's vacant body over one shoulder.

"Good luck, Ichigo-kun," he said quietly before turning to climb the ladder back to the shop.

"Um, isn't he coming back?" Ichigo asked, scratching his head.

"Nope!" Urahara said cheerfully. Just us now. Let's get this gate open!"

"Wait a minute!" Rukia protested. "What about the Vizard?"

Urahara shrugged. "I told them the time. Not my fault if they're late. If they want to come with us, they'll be here."

Rukia stepped forward into a clear space and pulled a strange talisman from around her neck. "Nii-sama gave me the key to the Kuchiki family senkai gate for this occasion," she told them. "We'll be emerging in the back garden. Please behave yourselves in case there are servants around when we emerge."

"Behave myself?" Isshin laughed. "I always behave myself, just ask Masaki!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and groaned. "I hate you."

His face streaming with tears, Isshin fell to the ground. "Oh, Masaki! Our beloved son hates me! What do I do?!"

"You shut up, is what," Ichigo replied, kicking Isshin's rear.

He turned back to Rukia, and was surprised to see her smiling widely. "They've come!"

"Who?" Ichigo asked.

"God, Ichi, you are _terrible_ at sensing reiastu. Gonna have to work on that if you're gonna be a good Vice-Captain, yanno," said a familiar voice.

Ichigo whirled around to find Shinji and the rest of the Vizard standing behind him. Shinji grinned widely and tilted his cap.

"Let's get this show on the road!"

xxx

Omake:

Kon: *wails* Nee-san! You forgot me!!

Ishida: It's more likely that you were left behind on purpose.

Kon: *sobs* NEEE-SAAAAAAN!!!!!!

tells me that over 100 people have looked at this fic, but so far no-one has reviewed. This makes me sad :( and means that updates are less frequent because I think that no-one is enjoying the story enough to tell me that they like it (or that they think areas need improving; I'm always accepting of criticism so long as it is spelt correctly). It doesn't take long to review, and I'd really appreciate it if someone would... *puppy dog eyes*


	4. Chapter 4

Two reviews! *dances* Thank you Comet1234 and Larn555! That was a lovely inbox to wake up to ^^ Apologies for this being a shorter chapter than normal, but I am away until Tuesday and wanted to update before I left.

A million thanks to TKCB for the beta! Everyone go check out "Passion for Paperwork"; it is awesome and sexy and I named it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, Renji would be naked more often, Hyorinmaru would be materialised all the time and Hitsugaya would get more screentime

On with the chapter!

Hisagi sat nervously across from his new Captain, suppressing the urge to tie the end of his obi into knots. Urahara-taicho appeared to be completely preoccupied by the tea pot, but Hisagi was sure that the Shinigami was watching him carefully from beneath his striped hat.

"Here we go, Hisagi-kun!" Urahara announced cheerfully, pushing a steaming cup of tea across the table. "It's a new blend I am trying out. Please let me know what you think. If we both enjoy it I might give Byakuya a box as an apology."

Hisagi tried, and failed, to stop the look of surprise plastering itself over his face. "Apology, Taichou?"

Urahara lifted his teacup to his mouth, Hisagi was sure that he was hiding a smile behind the porcelain. "Because my presence in Soul Society has... repercussions for him."

Hisagi nodded, unsure as to what his Captain was talking about but not willing to probe the subject further. It had only been three days, and already he was considering requesting a transfer to another division. Urahara was difficult to deal with, cryptic at the best of times and was forever talking in circles. Still, he should probably give the man at least a month before he made a decision.

"Hisagi-kun?" Urahara asked, setting his half-empty cup on the table.

"Yes, Taichou?"

"Are you aware of my position before I left 100 years ago?"

"Um, not really, Taichou."

"Stop being so formal."

"Sorry, tai-. Sorry."

Urahara smiled and took his hat off. Hisagi was momentarily amazed at the pure fluffiness of his hair, before pulling himself together and paying attention to what Urahara was saying.

"I was the previous Captain of the 12th Division, and I turned it into the Division it is today."

"What do you mean?" Hisagi asked cautiously.

"I mean that before I became Captain it did not have anything to do with research or science. There was no one division that studied the things that I thought needed to be studied, things like the behaviour of different types of spirit particles or classifying the different types of hollow. So when I became Captain of the 12th I made it into the Division that those interested in science and the associated practices joined."

"Uh... are you trying to tell me that you'll be turning the 9th Division into another Research Institute?" Hisagi asked. He was thankful to see Urahara shake his head.

"Of course not. I want to turn it into a Division that specialises in operations set in the Real World."

"What?"

Hisagi stared across the table. Urahara serenely refilled his teacup. "Another cup?"

"Taichou, what? Why?"

"Because there is a need for it, that's why. You should have seen the outfits that Vice-Captain Abarai and the others wore the first time they visited. Disgraceful. I will speak with Yamamoto about this, of course. I plan on having a group inside my old shop at all times. They will be needed now that Kurosaki Ichigo is no longer keeping an eye on the area."

"But... isn't there a Quincy in Karakura?"

"All the more reason for Soul Society to have a presence. I'm sure Yamamoto will agree. Groups of three or five, perhaps. What do you think, Hisagi-kun?"

"Groups of three cadets under a seated Shinigami, rotated on a weekly basis," Hisagi replied, his mind automatically calculating the best arrangement for the scenario.

"Ah, excellent. I knew there was a good reason for you to be a Vice-Captain. I shall write a report to Yamamoto. You will help me."

Hisagi opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. Perhaps this idea wasn't so insane after all. Shinigami were usually invisible while operating in the Real World, but it couldn't hurt to keep on top of things. Human society seemed to be changing very swiftly, with clothing styles changing every few years.

"I think Orihime-chan is working in a clothing store at the moment. She might be willing to help..." Urahara mused, sipping his second cup of tea.

Sighing, Hisagi made a mental note. It looked like there was going to be a lot of work ahead of him.

xxx

Rukia sat on the roof of the Uniform Supply hall and watched the sunset. Ichigo had only been in Seireitei for three days, and already his presence was grating on her nerves. He seemed a lot more cheerful than normal as he learnt about his new job and took lessons in kidou and reiatsu sensing from whoever would teach him. His cheerful, hard-working attitude was so much like _his_ that she had had to get away.

Shiba Kaien had been a teacher, a big brother, a friend and her first crush (the one she had had on Renji once in Rukongai didn't count, as it had lasted a grand total of two hours; from the time he stole her some yummy candy to the time he dropped the last of it in the mud when he slipped and fell on his face). Seeing Ichigo fulfilling Kaien's role in the Division hurt more than she had imagined it could, and despite the fact that he was a good friend she found herself wishing that he was elsewhere. She had managed to push these feelings to the back of her mind. Ichigo didn't know about Kaien, and would be upset if he did know about his startling resemblance to the man she had killed. Twice.

That evening she had come across Ichigo and a young recruit sitting on the rōka outside his new office, Ichigo promising to help the young Shinigami grow stronger and learn to control her zanpaktou. The scene had brought tears to her eyes and she had flash-stepped away before either of them noticed her presence, finishing her reckless dash in her current location, the Uniform Supply hall.

Now that she was finally alone, she permitted a few tears to slip down her nose. After all, there was no-one to see her cry up here.

"Why are you crying?" a voice asked.

Rukia jumped and whirled around, wiping her face with her palms. Hitsugaya Toshiro was standing directly behind her, a softer-than-usual look in his teal eyes.

"I...uh... what are you doing here?" Rukia blurted out.

To her amazement, Hitsugaya sat on the roof beside her. "I was patrolling, sort of. I needed to get away from the office. Then I saw you. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!"

Hitsugaya raised one eyebrow. "For someone as strong as you to be crying, it cannot be nothing."

"Nothing to concern yourself with, Hitsugaya-taichou," Rukia said formally.

Hitsugaya laughed quietly, causing Rukia to bristle. What did he think he was doing, laughing at her? Even if he was a Captain, that didn't give him the right to-

"We're very similar, you know," Hitsugaya said next, interrupting her train of thought.

"W-what?"

"We both dislike sharing our feelings with those who may not take us seriously. We both have expectations to live up to. We both have ice-type zanpaktou. We're both from Rukongai." Hitsugaya turned to look at her, one cool hand sliding around her wrist so that she couldn't run away. "In such a situation, two similar people should confide in each other, if no-one else, ne?" he said quietly.

Slowly, Rukia nodded. His words made sense, too much sense, and she knew that she needed to talk to someone about this. Going around with a load of guilty memories pressing down on her was hardly an effective way to perform her duties.

"Would it help if I told you of my own troubles?" Hitsugaya asked, dropping her wrist and leaning back on the roof. Rukia hesitated for a moment, then lay down next to him, staring up at the sky, where a few stars were beginning to appear.

"Please," she whispered, knowing that the tears would start again if she talked of Kaien.

Hitsugaya took a deep breath. "Kurosaki Isshin was the previous Captain of the 10th Division. I suppose I should be grateful that they didn't tell me to run the 3rd and put Kurosaki-taicho back in his old position."

"Perhaps because between him and Matsumoto, nothing would ever get done?" Rukia suggested. She had hoped for a laugh from the white-haired prodigy, but what she got was a smile. Still, it was better than nothing.

"Seeing him in Captain's meetings... he acts like nothing happened. Like he didn't abandon our division on a whim for some _woman_ he met briefly in the Real World." Hitsugaya's voice was thick with remembered pain, and without thinking about it Rukia found herself reaching for his hand and lacing their fingers together, hoping to soothe with her presence a pain that words could do nothing to abate.

"And the worst thing is that I know I should be grateful now, that he abandoned us. Without that, we wouldn't have Kurosaki Ichigo, and without Ichigo we would never have defeated Aizen. But none of that seems to matter when I pass by him in a corridor and he says 'Hello, Hitsugaya-kun!' like nothing happened, as if he were still the Captain that I looked up to, the one who helped me achieve bankai in the first place."

Rukia squeezed his fingers tightly. "It must be worse for you. I'm seeing an after-image walking around, a dark head superimposed by my memories over Ichigo's bright hair. I suppose that after a while the orange will banish the black and I won't remember Kaien any more. You're seeing a ghost."

She felt Hitsugaya shake his head, an errant spike of white hair brushing against her cheek. "No... Kurosaki-taicho left us. What you were forced to do to Kaien was much worse than to just be left."

"Don't belittle your own pain, Toshiro!" Rukia scolded, turning to face him. She froze, uncertain as to when they had got so close, his bright eyes mere centimetres from her own.

"I'm not..." he whispered, leaning even closer. "I'm trying to forget it."

Rukia's eyes slid closed as Toshiro's cool, smooth lips pressed against her own. She felt his arm wrap gently around her waist, not pulling her closer but just holding her in place. Everything seemed to melt away as they parted their lips in unison and the cool taste of ice and mint filled her mouth. It felt so comfortable and _right _to lie in Toshiro's arms, the ache that she thought had taken up permanent residence in her chest melting away. She slid her free hand up through his hair, marvelling quietly in a corner of her mind at how soft it was. Her fingertips brushed over the delicate curve of his ear and he made a small noise in the back of his throat, leaning slightly into the touch.

Then he tensed, and pulled away. "We shouldn't be doing this," he told her, bright eyes shining in the fading light.

"Why not?" Rukia protested.

"You... you are a Kuchiki. I am a nobody. Your brother would kill me, and we're not exactly in a secluded position here."

"Fine," Rukia said. "Let's go somewhere else."

"We cannot, Rukia!" Toshiro cried, untangling his hand from her own. "You know that."

Quickly, he turned and flash-stepped away, leaving Rukia sitting on the rooftop with fresh tears overflowing from her eyes.

"But I want to," she said forlornly, before burying her head in her hands.

xxx

Omake:

Ichigo: So, Renji, where do you buy conditioner in Soul Society?

Renji: I'll show you. There's this great little shop in Rukongai...

Ichigo: Is there a good selection?

Renji: Sure! Hitsugaya-taichou gets his watermelon shampoo from there.

Ichigo: Watermelon??


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, Renji would be naked more often, Hyourinmaru would be materialised all the time and Hitsugaya would get more screentime.

Thanks to TKCB for the beta!

Chapter 5:

Rukia made her way slowly back to the 13th Division's barracks. She felt as if a great weight were pressing down upon her, making it hard to lift her feet. As she entered through the main gate, she was surprised when Ichigo appeared out of no-where and fell into step with her. _Wow_, she thought to herself. _I must be really out of it to have missed that reiatsu_.

She glanced upwards, only to find that he wasn't looking at her at all. His hands were folded behind his head, and he was peering up at the stars.

"What happened?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"Nothing important," she replied.

"Aw, come on. I know you better than that. If I have to, I'll collect Renji from the 6th and we'll interrogate you together."

"You wouldn't."

"I don't think Renji would be very happy if his little sister is unhappy and he doesn't know the reason."

"It's nothing."

"Your face says otherwise."

Gritting her teeth, Rukia punched her new Vice-Captain on the arm. "Are you always going to be this annoying?" she snarled.

"Only if you're going to keep things from me," he replied seriously. "We're friends, aren't we? And I'm now your Vice-Captain. It's my duty to see that all members of the division are happy and performing well in their allocated duties."

"You're paraphrasing from the handbook, aren't you?" Rukia accused, folding her arms.

Ichigo shrugged. "That dude from 1st came over yesterday and shoved it in my face. Said something about a test later in the week, so I thought I'd better learn it."

Rukia stopped walking to stare at him. "You... you're taking this really seriously, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. A lot of people are depending on me."

Rukia supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised. This was Ichigo after all. "I'm going to bed. Good night."

Ichigo watched as she walked away. That had been a clear dismissal, and he still didn't know what was going on. Time to pay a visit to Renji.

Matsumoto had already made sure that he was familiar with her favourite bar, so he headed there first. According to one of the many pieces of paper scattered across his desk, 6th and 10th had afternoon patrol with 13th the next day, so it was likely that Matsumoto and Renji would be taking advantage of their pending morning off. He only hoped that Renji wasn't too drunk by the time he got there.

As soon as Ichigo entered the bar, he was tackled by Matsumoto. "Ichi!" she whined. "Renji is being mean to me!"

Sighing, Ichigo pushed her back to a more respectable distance, extracting his face from her cleavage. He was amazed that Hitsugaya had yet to suffocate, as he knew she pulled a similar move on the frosty Captain at least twice a week. "I need to talk to Renji."

"Well, maybe it's you he wants, he certainly doesn't want me," she said cryptically, taking a large gulp from the bottle of sake clasped firmly in her hand.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked as they walked over to the table. Ichigo was relieved to see that Kira was also present. The blond seemed rather worse for wear, and Ichigo was sure that that was probably his father's doing. He made a mental note to give Kira some tips for dealing with the elder Kurosaki another time.

Matsumoto collapsed into her seat and took another swig of sake. It didn't look like he would be getting any answers from her, and Renji was slumped over a half-demolished plate of teriyaki chicken, a depressed blue reiatsu aura swirling around him. Ichigo looked to Kira for answers.

Kira sighed. "Rangiku prepositioned Renji, and he turned her down," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know why she bothered," he continued, "we've known for decades that Renji isn't that into women, especially not women like Matsumoto. I mean, he had that thing with Hisagi for a start, and they were _obvious_." Kira poured sake into a dish and downed it in one.

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo decided that he would process that one later. "C'mon, Renji. Need to talk to you."

"'Bout what?" Renji protested.

"Something's up with Rukia, and she's not talking to me."

"Oh, ok." Renji pushed his half-eaten teriyaki towards Kira and clambered to his feet. "Let's go then."

xxx

In another corner of the same bar, Shinji was holding a Vizard meeting.

"This place hasn't changed," Lisa said, sipping at a glass of wine.

"It still serves my favourite beer," Love sighed happily, toasting the barman.

Hiyori stomped over from the bar. "Bastard still won't serve me sake," she grumbled, placing a glass of orange juice on the table.

"Never mind," Rose said soothingly. "He probably refuses to serve Hitsugaya-taicho as well."

"As if that stuck-up, frozen moron would ever visit a bar," Hiyori grumbled, sticking a straw in her drink.

"Ok, people! This is not a social gathering," Shinji interrupted. "I want to talk about plans for the division. We're all qualified leaders, there isn't any point in me just putting you in seated positions, even if all of Aizen's seated officers are suspect and need to be demoted and watched over."

"Ok, so what are you going to do?" Lisa asked.

Shinji grinned. "I've been talking with Yamamoto, and 5th division are going to take the main responsibility for patrolling Hueco Mundo," he revealed. "I think it's best to do that in groups bigger than the normal teams of three, seeing as historically a lot of those teams of three have met up with a Hollow that it would take five to fight effectively, and have returned with serious wounds, or not returned at all. So, we'll divide the division up equally."

"What?"

"Nothing like that has ever been done before!"

"So?" Shinji asked, sipping at his sake. "A group of Vizard have never been in charge of a squad before either. The Gotei 13 are way too mired in the past. They need to be brought forward. I think Urahara will also be making some radical changes to the 9th, and who knows what crazy plans Kurosaki-Taicho has for the 3rd. I remember that guy when he was a third seat; he was mad then and he seems just as mad now."

Hiyori shuddered. "Just thinking about what that guy might do makes my skin crawl. Wasn't he the one who suggested mandatory bouts with members of other squads whenever you bumped into them while off duty as a _training method_?"

"If I remember rightly, he also wanted to dye all the white parts of the uniform pink for female Shinigami," Mashiro said, putting down the strangely coloured cocktail she had been absorbed in.

"I'm glad that one didn't go through," Lisa said, shuddering.

"What's wrong with pink?" Hachigen asked, a sad expression crossing his large face.

"Oh, nothing, nothing!" Lisa said quickly.

Silence reigned over the table as each Vizard drank and thought about the implications that Shinji's mad plan would have. Love was the first to speak.

"Hey... this new plan of yours, Shinji?"

"Yeah?" The blond Vizard replied.

"It means more paperwork, doesn't it?"

Simultaneous groans issued from the throats of all present. Hiyori downed her orange juice and slammed her fist on the table.

"Shinji, go buy me some sake. Now."

xxx

Safely ensconced in the 6th division barracks, Ichigo pushed open the door to Renji's quarters and pushed the red-headed Vice-Captain in the direction of the bathroom.

"Go sober up. We need to talk."

"Awright!" Renji muttered, kicking off his shoes. He shut the door behind him and a few seconds later Ichigo heard the sound of water running.

The newly appointed Vice-Captain took off his own shoes and looked around the sparsely-decorated room. Renji had no personal items scattered around, unlike Ichigo, whose rooms already sported photographs of those he had left behind him, along with various small gifts from his Shinigami friends, who had been very happy to welcome him with a housewarming party. Renji had a stand for Zabimaru, a shelf filled with different bandannas and sunglasses, and a chappy the rabbit mug, obviously a gift from Rukia, sitting on the counter in the small kitchenette.

Ichigo opened the cupboard and pulled out two cushions and a small table. He arranged them neatly by the window, but that didn't take very long and Renji still hadn't come out of the bathroom, so he decided to fill the kettle and make some tea, reasoning that it would probably help Renji sober up.

The kettle had just boiled when Renji emerged, his red hair flowing vibrantly around his shoulders. He had changed out of his uniform and was dressed in an informal flowery kimono, tied loosely at the waist. Ichigo found that he couldn't help tracing the dark lines of Renji's tattoos as they flowed down his exposed chest. He knew that he was staring, but when he managed to bring his eyes back up they caught the red strands of Renji's long hair and trailed back down again. A deep chuckle brought him out of his trance.

"Ne, Ichigo, you been drinking?" Renji asked, sitting down at the table. Ichigo decided that it was safer not to say anything.

"Rukia's acting weird," he said instead, pouring the boiling water into the pot he had found and carrying it carefully over to the table. Renji jumped up to fetch two cups, one the chappy the rabbit mug and the other a plain white thing with a chip on the rim.

"Weird how?" he asked.

Ichigo shrugged. "She vanished earlier, and when she came back she was.... sad, I guess."

"You guess?" Renji asked, eyebrow raised.

"You know I'm no good at reading reiatsu!" Ichigo protested. "I made you tea. Shut up."

"You did, I suppose I should be grateful," Renji said insincerely, stretching lazily.

"S'only polite," Ichigo said grumpily, watching the steam rise from the spout of the teapot.

"Thank you very much for making me tea, Ichigo-fukutaicho." Ichigo rolled his eyes and grinned. Renji grinned back. "That's better."

"Aren't you worried about Rukia?"

"Naw, I figure I know what's wrong."

Intrigued, Ichigo leant closer, resting his elbows on the table. Renji sighed and looked down at his hands, loosing his playful expression.

"Has anyone told you about the man who had your position before you?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No. No-one seems to want to talk about him."

"Ok... his name was Shiba Kaien, and he looked like you."

Ichigo was suddenly glad that the tea hadn't brewed yet, because if he had been taking a sip at that point he was pretty sure that Renji would have been wiping his face. "What?"

Renji waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, he didn't have your hair or eye colour, or your attitude for the most part, but he looked a lot like you. Maybe how you would have turned out if your mum hadn't... anyway. The way you look is probably a big part of why Rukia helped you in the first place."

Ichigo frowned. "That can't be all of it."

Sighing, Renji shook his head. "No, it isn't. Shiba-san... his wife was killed by a hollow, and so he hunted it down with Ukitake-Taicho and Rukia. He insisted on fighting it alone, but it had an ability that hadn't been seen before. It merged with him. Ukitake-taicho, well, you know he isn't well. He had an attack at just the wrong moment, and Rukia had to..."

"Rukia killed him?" Ichigo asked, horrified.

Sadly, Renji nodded. "He thanked her."

"Shit."

Renji reached out and poured the tea, taking the warm mug between his hands and inhaling the familiar scent. "He... he was the one who helped her achieve Shikai. In some ways, he was the older brother that Kuchiki-taicho wasn't."

Ichigo rubbed his hand over his eyes, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. "And to see me in his place, doing his job, looking like him... that must be hell."

"She'll be all right," Renji said, peering at Ichigo over the edge of his mug. Ichigo smiled despite himself.

"You look like Urahara."

Renji scowled. "Shut up. My nose is cold."

"You're drunk," Ichigo accused.

"Would have to be to tell that story," Renji retorted, sipping at his tea.

Ichigo swallowed a large mouthful of his own tea, wishing it was something stronger as he realised that he would have to address the issue spinning in the back of his mind or he wouldn't sleep that night.

"Renji?"

"Yeah?"

"Kira said something... about you and Hisagi?"

To Ichigo's surprise, Renji blushed. "Woah... didn't expect you to hear about that one so soon."

"So... it's true?"

Renji looked out the window, his cheeks stained pink. "It's past," he said softly. "We... we had some fun for a bit. Before I made Vice-Captain. We weren't particularly discreet about it." Renji peered at Ichigo out of the corner of his eye. "We still good?"

Ichigo stared into his rapidly cooling mug. "Yeah," he said eventually. "We're good. I just... you don't seem... I'm surprised, is all."

Renji laughed in relief, tipping his head back. Once again, Ichigo found himself mesmerised by the fiery strands as they slid over Renji's shoulders. He traced the black lines that marked Renji's neck up to his ear.

"You'd look good with an earring," he blurted before he could stop himself.

Renji stared at him and grinned. "Only if you get one too," he said, licking his lips. Ichigo blushed.

"Maybe."

Smiling, Renji downed the rest of his tea. "We'll get real drunk some time and get matching ones," he promised.

Ichigo grinned back. "Only if I get to choose the earring!"

xxx

Omake:

TKCB: Umm...hello everyone, I should introduce myself. I am The Knights Comma Black and I enjoy beta-ing Skarla's fics. *smiles*

Isshin: We need to get you a shorter name that I can scream before I glomp you.

TKCB: No thanks, I like my name how it is, it takes you so long to say it I can hear you coming and step out the way with plenty of time to spare.

Isshin: But...*gets kicked by Ichigo*

Ichigo: Leave the poor woman alone!

Isshin: *twitch*

Renji: Do you think you over did it?

TKCB: Nah. Do it again. It might cheer Rukia up.

*carnage*

A/N: If anyone can think of something really crazy for Isshin to do, please let me know and I'll see if I can work it in. TKCB and I will do our best to amuse you whatever.


	6. Chapter 6

I want to apologise for any discrepancies in my spelling of Toshiro. My fingers want to type Toushiro/u. (I think that's because of the way DB do their fansubs). I also can never remember if I'm going with 'fifth' and 'thirteenth' or '5th' and '13th' Sorry if I keep on switching between the two!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, Renji would be naked more often, Hyourinmaru would be materialised all the time and Hitsugaya would get more screentime.

Thanks to TKCB for the beta! I apologise for this chapter. I cannot seem to get my mind out of the gutter. WARNING: LIME! (Toshiro has an active imagination).

Chapter 6:

The next morning, Hitsugaya Toshiro sat at his desk and attempted to concentrate on the paperwork in front of him. The 10th Division always seemed to generate more than any other, although he suspected that had something to do with his Vice-Captain. His eyebrow twitched as he read a paragraph for the third time, still not managing to process the meaning. His head was full of Rukia, her soft, smooth lips moving against his own, the very memory of the way she tasted making his cock twitch in the soft folds of his hakama. He remembered the way her eyes had looked as he had left her, and his budding erection quickly waned as guilt churned in his stomach. She was delicate and beautiful, a fragile thing with snowflake emotions and a will of steel, and he had left her. He wouldn't be surprised if she hated him now, and he just could not get her out of his head. The mental image of her slender fingers untying his obi, her warm tongue laving his nipples while she palmed his cock through the black cotton-

Wait, no, he was rubbing _himself_ through the fabric, dangerously close to a full, aching erection that would bother him for the next hour if he didn't take care of it now, Rukia was no-where near and he didn't dare jerk off in the office. Matsumoto had a radar for such things.

Stifling a loud groan of frustration – that really would bring Matsumoto running from her adjacent office – Toshiro slumped back into his chair and glared at the large lump mounding beneath his fundoshi. It was exceedingly uncomfortable, and at an odd angle that meant the tip was rubbing against a hard fold of cotton with his every movement. He gritted his teeth. He would not move. He was _not_ going to pleasure himself in his office.

If Rukia were there she would smile, he was sure, her dark eyes full of mirth at his predicament. She wouldn't say something trite like 'need a hand with that, Toshiro?'; she was far too straightforward to play such games. Rukia was businesslike, she got the job done. She was serious and intense, and always struck for the heart of the matter, which in this case meant that she would tug his hakama down over his aching erection, smiling at his inadvertent groan at the friction. She would prolong his frustrated lust for a minute, stroking his trapped cock through the soft cotton, her fingers too light to provide any real friction, teasing until her squirmed for more of her touch, so hard that it was painful to be pinned at such an angle within the folds of his fundoshi, pearly drops of precome seeping out and making the cotton damp. Then she would pull his underwear aside and watch closely as his cock sprung out, smearing the beads of moisture at the tip of his cock around with her thumb before firmly gripping his hard length in her small hand. She would meet his gaze and run her tongue over her lips before squeezing once, to gage his reaction. Then she would lick her own hand and run her slick fingers over the dark head of his cock to tease, to make him bite his lip hard and buck his hips into her touch.

Her hand would be cool against his uncomfortably hot skin, her grip firm as she stroked, alternating the pressure every so often to mimic the way her pussy would clench if he fucked her hard, so hard that she screamed and writhed beneath him, dark hair spread over his futon. Her pale thighs would grip him tightly, pulling him deep into her as he leant forward and sucked at the soft skin of her neck, one hand holding himself up while the other played with her breasts. Cupping, squeezing, rolling her hard nipples between his fingers until she was so wet that her pussy dripped and the clear streams of her cum trickled down to run in riverlets over his balls.

Toshiro's eyes flew open in surprise as his back arched involuntarily and he came all over himself.

"Shit."

He quickly unwrapped his fundoshi and used the fabric to clean himself off, hiding the soiled cotton in the bottom drawer of his desk.

"Taicho?" Matsumoto called from the other room. "Are you doing your paperwork? Your reiatsu is funny."

"Of course I'm doing my paperwork!" Toshiro called back, pulling up his hakama and straightening his kimono. "I appear to be doing yours as well!" he added for good measure as he fumbled with his obi. He could hear her footsteps moving closer, and knew he had about two seconds before she slid the door open.

Uniform straightened just in time, he quickly grabbed a brush and signed the sheet in front of him without looking at it as Matsumoto stepped into the room. "Something's bothering you, Taicho," she said, folding her arms. "You've been odd all morning."

"It's nothing," Toshiro replied, moving the paper to his 'dealt with' pile.

"It's not nothing. I know you better than that."

"I slept badly last night, that's all."

"Oh!" Matsumoto exclaimed clapping her hands. "Then you should have a nap on the couch! It's really comfortable."

"I'll be all right. I'll have some tea."

"Tea is not as good as sleep, Taicho. I have some sake here, that will help you!"

Toshiro frowned. "I don't want any sake, thank you. Will you please go finish your paperwork?"

"One thing first."

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth as he was enveloped in a suffocatingly hot hug. Everyone thought that he protested about being buried in Matsumoto's admittedly awe-inspiring bosom because he was a prude. That was not the case. He would quite have liked to enjoy the moment, being pressed into such large, soft breasts, but he never could because every time she hugged him he thought that he was about to pass out from heat stroke. Rukia, as he had found out last night, was just pleasantly warm. He would have no issues if she hugged him from behind in such a fashion, the small mounds of her breasts pushing into his shoulder...

"Taicho, your reiatsu is going funny again."

"I'm tired, go away," he replied, leaning forward to put some cool air between himself and her.

Matsumoto sidled away from his desk and skipped towards the door. She paused, and smiled over her shoulder. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Taicho was _thinking_ about someone!" she said with a wink before closing the door behind her.

Toshiro groaned and gave into the overwhelming urge to flop onto his desk, resting his forehead on the pile of paperwork he still had to read. 

xxx

Ichigo was leaving his office to go visit a young Shinigami who had been injured in a training accident the day before and was resting with the 4th for a while, when a hell butterfly flew up to him and delivered a message in what he supposed was Hisagi's voice, seeing as the message was to visit the 9th as soon as possible. Ichigo wasn't that familiar with the 9th squad Vice-Captain, but Renji looked up to him so he hoped that the dark-haired Shinigami was holding his own against Urahara better than Renji had during his time staying at the shop.

The message didn't sound particularly urgent, so Ichigo decided not to hurry towards the 9th Division's quarters. He strolled through the maze-like passages of Seireitai and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine. It didn't seem to rain much in the afterlife, although he had been told that the seasons mirrored those of the Real World. Ichigo wished that he had pockets to put his hands into, the useless swinging of his arms beginning to annoy him. He laced his fingers behind his head instead, and peered up at the blue sky, stifling a yawn.

He and Renji had been up late, drinking tea and talking. The discussion about Rukia had evolved into a re-hashing of various events that had occurred during Renji's trips to the Real World. They had laughed together about Keigo's sister's attraction to Ikkaku, and grinned at how appealing Rangiku had looked in the Karakura High school uniform. Then Renji had mentioned the time that Lirin and Nova had tricked them by inserting a copy into the group, and they had ended up wrestling in the corridor in front of the entire class. Ichigo had been embarrassed at the memory, especially as Ishida had later said that it wasn't a good way to tell if someone was a copy, but he was surprised to find that the part of the memory that lingered wasn't the embarrassment that he had felt, it was the feeling of Renji's hard, muscled body against his own, his soft red hair tickling Ichigo's cheek and ear as they rolled on the floor of the corridor.

Ichigo blinked as someone called his name. He was standing outside of the main door for the 9th, and the door guards were looking at him curiously. He coughed, rubbing his hands through his hair.

"Um... Urahara-san wanted to talk to me," he said.

The guard frowned. "Urahara-Taichou," he corrected, "told us to expect you. He's in the garden having a meeting with Hisagi-Fukutaichou."

xxx

Toshiro sighed and stretched, regarding the neat pile of completed paperwork on his desk with satisfaction. The sun was beginning to set, sending rays of golden orange light streaming through his window. The short Captain stood, swung Hyourinmaru over his shoulder and slid open the door to Matsumoto's office.

There were several empty sake bottles stacked in one corner, and a messy pile of what he hoped was completed paperwork on her desk, but she wasn't there. He walked over to the desk and had a look at the paperwork, suppressing the urge to straighten the haphazard stack. A note written in large, sloppy characters caught his eye.

_Taicho, finished my work and gone home for the day. Will be in the usual bar if you want me. Try not to work too hard! Rangiku._

Toshiro frowned. Typical Matsumoto, slacking off early without permission. Shrugging, he turned to leave the room, pausing as he felt something other than smooth floorboards under his foot. There was a file poking out from under her desk. Toshiro bent and fished it out, frowning as he recognised the note on the front. It was the one he had asked her to give to Ukitake-Taicho yesterday.

Grumbling to himself, Toshiro left the building and headed in the direction of the Thirteenth Division's headquarters. The buildings were practically next to each other, it's not like it would have taken Matsumoto a long time to drop off the file when he had asked her to.

He reached the front gates quickly, and was admitted by the guards without question. Ukitake's peaceful gardens spread before him, and the petite figure of Kuchiki Rukia was walking towards him.

"Fuck!" Toshiro spat, feeling an uncomfortable heat rising into his cheeks. He did not want to see her, especially not after what he had done that morning, but she had seen him now, and her dark eyes were even more captivating than he remembered, and for some reason he couldn't move.

"Hitsugaya-Taicho," she said politely.

"Rukia-san, I..." she was looking at him with her big, sad eyes. He could feel Hyourinmaru in the back of his mind, shouting at him. "I apologise."

Rukia's eyebrows furrowed. "For kissing me or for running away?" she asked acerbically.

"For running away. I... I allowed my emotions to get the better of me. I hope you can forgive me."

Rukia tilted her head to the side. "Will you make it up to me?" she asked, a hint of mischief replacing the anger in her eyes.

Swallowing, Toshiro nodded, wondering all the while what he was getting himself into. "I... I'll take you out to dinner?" he said tentatively, hoping that that was what she wanted. He knew that more time in her company was what he wanted, and in the relatively public forum of a restaurant he hoped that he could stop himself from saying or doing anything too stupid. Like running his fingers over her lips while he kissed down her neck. She might suck one in, and then he would slide the wet digit down her chest and over her breast to encircle her nipple. She would arch against him, pressing herself into his hard erection and...

Toshiro suddenly became aware of the hard erection throbbing between his legs. His fundoshi was still in his bottom desk drawer, which meant that there was a large lump now sticking out for anyone to notice. Rukia was staring at him. He prayed that she didn't look down.

"Dinner would be acceptable as an apology," she said with a smile. Her lips were wet, as if she had just run her tongue over them. He almost groaned at the thought of that tongue running over his own lips, or his cock.

Said part of his anatomy jerked in response to the mental image that accompanied that thought. Rukia, on her knees, strands of hair sticking to her flushed skin as she took him between her hands and slowly licked the head of his cock with her pink tongue.

Toshiro opened eyes he hadn't realised that he had closed and almost jumped back in surprise. Rukia was standing a lot closer to him than she had been a second ago, he was sure.

"You seem... a little distracted, _Toshiro,_" she said softly. Toshiro instantly decided that her saying his name was the sexiest thing he had ever heard and she could call him it whenever she wanted, so long as she used that tone of voice.

"I... um..." Toshiro's mind raced wildly. Should he make up an excuse? He couldn't tell her the truth, but she was standing so close and she smelt so good that his mind couldn't focus, all he could think about was how close she was to him, how much he wanted to reach out and pull her even closer, bury his face in the soft skin of her neck and press against her. "You're beautiful," he said finally, looking straight into her eyes. "I find you intoxicating."

Rukia giggled softly. "I know," she said, reaching down deliberately and rubbing her fingers over the hard, aching flesh straining shamefully out of his hakama towards her.

Toshiro felt his knees buckle at the sudden touch, so much more intense than his imagination had painted it. He managed to catch himself before he fell to his knees on the pathway, grabbing desperately at Rukia's shoulders as she lightly ran her fingers over him.

"Rukia," he murmured, catching her eyes with his own as he leant in for a kiss. Sighing, she closed her eyes and leant into him, sliding her hand around his waist as he slid his thigh between hers, pressing upwards slightly to make her gasp into the kiss. He could feel a pleasant warmth even through two layers fabric and couldn't stop himself from clutching her to him at the thought that he was turning her on. The motion trapped his cock uncomfortably between them, but he didn't care as she slid her tongue against his own.

It was over too soon, Rukia stepping back reluctantly. "We need to stop, someone might see," she whispered.

Toshiro rubbed his hands across his face to stop himself reaching out for her. "I want you," he said honestly, surprising himself with the raw need that even he could hear in his voice.

"I know, Toshiro. Later."

Taking a deep breath, Toshiro composed himself and looked down ruefully. "I appear to have a problem."

Rukia giggled again, eyeing the way his erection pulled at the folds of his hakama. "I think you have." She shifted slightly, uncomfortable. He watched as she changed her stance several times, before realising the reason for it. His unruly cock twitched again as he imagined how she would smell if he pressed his face between her legs right then.

Toshiro found himself grinning as he met her eyes. "How soon is later?"

xxx

Omake:

Urahara: How come I didn't get to be in this chapter?

Skarla: Because Ichigo kept on wanting to think about Renji.

Renji: So? What's wrong with that? I'm sexy!

Skarla: *head on desk* This chapter was supposed to be about Toshiro and Rukia, that's what's wrong!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer

Ichigo, crouching on the top of the wall that surrounded 13th Division's barracks, couldn't believe what he was seeing. Rukia and Toshiro, arms wrapped around each other, pressed together in a passionate kiss. A brief flash of jealousy ran through him, followed by the familiar surge of worry he felt every time he saw Karin or Yuzu with a new male. Ichigo bit his lip. Rukia would not appreciate him barging in on her, he was sure. She would probably punch him, throw some kido that he didn't know how to block at him, or possibly release Sode no Shirayuki and freeze his balls. That was just Rukia – he didn't dare contemplate what the young Captain would do to him, just in case Toshiro managed to somehow pick up on it.

The orange-haired Vice-Captain gritted his teeth and concentrated on locking down his reiatsu. They were both pretty preoccupied, but it was better to be safe than sorry. It was about time for dinner, so everyone else was probably in their various dining halls eating, leaving the garden deserted. Urahara had invited him to eat with the Ninth, but he had declined, wanting to talk to Rukia about what was bothering her as they ate.

Looks like he didn't have to any more.

Ichigo decided to stop eavesdropping, as it was an activity his father would be proud of, and he took pains to avoid those on principle. He jumped down behind a thick clump of bushes and headed for the kitchens. He would get a tray and take it to Rukia's room. Dinner would be an excellent excuse to be waiting for her there.

It wasn't until he heard footsteps approaching that he considered she might not be alone. He tentatively reached out, attempting to sense how many people were walking down the corridor, just in case he needed to make a speedy getaway out of the window. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that Rukia was alone.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as soon as she slid the door open.

"I brought you dinner!" Ichigo said quickly, waving a plate of her favourite rice dumplings at her.

Rukia sniffed. "That's all right then." She bent down to unfasten her waraji and padded quietly across the tatami to flop down on the cushion he had set out for her. "What made you decide to feed me?"

"Oh, I got back late, and I knew that you hadn't eaten yet. I wanted to talk to you about last night, but now I don't have to."

Rukia stiffened and glared at him, frozen in the act of pouring a cup of green tea. "What?" she snapped, the temperature in the room dropping.

Ichigo sighed. "The middle of the garden isn't a secluded place, Rukia. I'm not planning on splashing this everywhere, but I'm not going to pretend that I didn't see you either."

Rukia gaped at him, the hand that held the teapot beginning to tremble. Ichigo quickly took it from her and poured the steaming liquid into her cup, then his own before setting it down.

"I think you should let Renji know," Ichigo continued, piling the shrimp filled rice dumplings and half the omelette strips onto her plate, adding tomatoes and cucumber. "He can't look out for you if he doesn't know what to look out for, and you know how he worries."

Rukia sat and stared as Ichigo heaped food onto his own plate. She was torn between telling him everything and grabbing Sode no Shirayuki with the intention to turn him into an ice cube. She decided that the best course of action would be to pick up her chopsticks. It was hard to make rational decisions on an empty stomach after all. Ichigo grinned at her around a mouthful of spicy pork as she unwrapped a rice dumpling and set the leaves neatly on the side of her plate before biting into the warm filling.

"Whoever the cook is appears to have improved," he said, setting his own dumpling aside to nibble on some cucumber. "These are much better than last time. Spicier too."

Rukia smiled, sipping at her green tea. "They still don't match the ones that the chef at the Kuchiki manor can make. You should come to dinner some time, then you can see for yourself."

Ichigo shuddered, shaking his head. "Eat at the same table as Byakuya? I don't think so."

"He's not there most of the time, he practically lives at Sixth Division Headquarters."

"So... you're suggesting that we take advantage of his absence?" Ichigo asked, dropping the piece of omelette he had picked up in his surprise.

Rukia giggled. "It's my home to, you know. All the servants are very fond of me, as they were of my sister before me."

A shadow darkened her face as she regretted the loss of a sister she had barely known. Ichigo reached across the table to grip her shoulder, unsure whether she would accept comfort from him. He decided to change the subject to something more lighthearted.

"Did you know that Matsumoto is mad at Renji?" he asked. Rukia's head flew up and she peered at him incredulously.

"What? Why?"

"Kira said it was because he won't sleep with her, because he likes guys." Rukia snorted.

"She should know that already."

Ichigo slapped himself on the forehead. "You mean you knew too?" he asked. Rukia looked at him curiously.

"Of course I did. He's been my best friend since forever."

"Oh...." Ichigo looked down at his half-eaten pork dumpling. "She also said that he wanted me," he said quickly, before stuffing the dumpling into his mouth.

"WHAT?!"

xxx

Shuuhei peered at the senkai gate out of the corner of his eye, hoping that it would mysteriously vanish, along with the altogether far too exuberant Captain standing in front of it, ordering the two scientists from the Research Bureau around. One seemed resentful, the other appeared to be ecstatic that the founder of the Bureau was deigning to speak to him.

Resigning himself to the reality of the situation; namely, that this mission was going to happen whatever he did, Shuuhei turned to look at the three Shinigami he was babysitting. He couldn't think of it any other way. He was _not_ looking forward to this. It wasn't fair; he'd thought that Urahara's plan was months away from actually being implemented. Then he had learnt otherwise in the Senior Officer's meeting the night before.

_ Yamamoto sou-taicho glared around at the assembled Captain's and Vice-Captains standing in nervous rows before him. Shuuhei tried to ignore the shiver that Yamamoto's fiery reiatsu always provoked in him._

_ "Captains and Vice-Captains of the Gotei 13," Yamamoto boomed. "I have called this meeting to inform you of some changes that have been approved recently. Firstly, Squad Five is now the Hueco Mundo specialist squad, and will deal with any and all missions relating to the Hollow Realm. Please inform your squads that any missions scheduled to take place in Hueco Mundo have now been cancelled."_

_ Shuuhei stared across at Hirako Shinji and Sarugaki Hiyori, who he supposed had been chosen to represent the Vizard. Their stances suggested that they expected opposition, but the silence was not broken by any mutterings. Shinji took a step forward and cleared his throat._

_ "As we have four former Captains and four former Vice-Captains, we have decided to split the Division into eight squads. Each squad will patrol Hueco Mundo, and report on any changes there, as well as dealing with any Hollows they come across while patrolling. By splitting the Division, each patrol will have a high level leader present to deal with any Arrancar still hanging about."_

_ Shinji stepped back into line, and Shuuhei noticed several Captains nodding in approval, the Captain of the Eighth being the most obvious about it._

_ "I have also approved changes to the Ninth Division," Yamamoto continued. Shuuhei stiffened as everyone shifted slightly to stare at Urahara. "Urahara-Taicho, please explain your strategy."_

_ Urahara stepped forward and smiled. Of course, Shuuhei was behind him so he couldn't see that he smiled, but he somehow knew that the bastard had to be smiling._

_ "It has come to my attention that the Gotei 13 are shamefully out of touch with the Real World," he began. "Abarai-fukutaicho, for example, was wearing clothes that were at least forty years out of date during his first long term mission."_

_ Shuuhei looked across at Renji as he snorted and opened his mouth to protest, but then he glanced at Ichigo and seemed to think better of it. Shuuhei tried to see exactly what Ichigo was doing to shut Renji up, but Zaraki was in the way._

_ "We now have a unique opportunity to study the Real World," Urahara continued. "My shop is still open, providing interaction with living humans. Inoue Orihime and Ishida Uryuu are available for fashion consultations, and Sado Yasutora, also known as Chad, has also agreed to help. The eventual plan is that Division Nine will take over the majority of the patrols in the real world, and members of any other Division on a mission to the Real World will consult with a specialist during their mission."_

_ "Is this really necessary?" Soi Fon asked, frowning. "We've got by so far without a squad specialising in the Real World."_

_ "Society is changing more rapidly than it used to, with new things coming in every five to ten years. It used to be that fashions would stay the same for decades, now things change from year to year. The Real World is moving rapidly, and we are not doing a good job at keeping up," Urahara said patiently. "Technology is advancing as well, and several devices that may be useful to us are being developed. We need to keep a close eye on the Real World."_

_ "You will, of course, bring examples of this new technology to the Research Bureau," Kurotsuchi interrupted._

_ Shuuhei fought the urge to roll his eyes. If Urahara and Kurotsuchi got into a scientist's pissing match the meeting could go on for hours, and he had a feeling that he needed to go home and pack. If Urahara had managed to get Yamamoto to approve his crazy plan, Shuuhei would be sent to the Real World with the first group. Anything else would be unacceptable to Urahara._

"Hisagi-kun!" Urahara called, breaking Shuuhei out of the trance he had fallen into. "They're ready for you!"

Shuuhei suppressed a sigh, and gestured for the Shinigami to follow him, not bothering to check to see if they followed. He strode towards the gate, which slid open as he approached.

"Good luck, Hisagi-kun. Tessai-san will look after you. See you in two weeks!"

Shuuhei nodded, wishing that Urahara's creepy grin wasn't going to be his last memory of Soul Society, and stepped through the gate, the three Shinigami close behind him.

Omake:

TKCB: Wai hai everyone, it's been a while. Looks like I'm in charge of the omake this week. *grins evilly*

Shuuhei: Uh...what have you got planned exactly? And why do I get a bad feeling about this?

TKCB: Weeeell, it involves lots of shirtless men, a giant fire and _a hell load_ of chocolate sauce.

Renji, Ichigo and Shuuhei: Say WHAT?!

Renji: Run for your lives!!

*mass running*

TKCB: But I meant a beach party with a bonfire for after dark and ice cream...I like chocolate sauce on my ice cream... *cries*

Authors Notes: Short chapter,and a long wait I know, I'm sorry. I was attacked by writers block... or possibly writers exhaustion. Too many projects going on at once! Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing writing fanfiction on top of a creative writing degree...


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo, who thankfully allows us to play in his world.

Warning: LEMON!

Chapter 8

Toshiro stood outside the entrance to the 13th Division's barracks, working up the nerve to go in. He had been working up the nerve for about twenty minutes before Hyourinmaru decided that enough was enough.

_"Toshiro, this isn't getting you anywhere,"_ said a familiar voice in the back of his head.

"I know, but at least I managed to walk all the way here."

_"You need to go in and see her. If you leave things as they were you will go mad."_

"I doubt that."

_"Your sanity is slipping already, you've been staring at a gate for almost half an hour. The gate is not going to bite you."_

"Rukia might," Toshiro muttered, more to himself than his zanpakto.

_"It looks like the decision is made for you,"_ Hyourinmaru said cryptically.

"What?"

The gates in front of him opened, and Kuchiki Rukia stepped through. Her amethyst eyes widened as she saw him standing there.

"Toshiro?"

Toshiro blushed. "I, er, I was going to... um... dinner?"

Rukia smiled. "We did have plans, didn't we?" she said demurely, her eyes lowered.

"Yes, I, um, that is... if you're free?"

"Oh, I'm free. I was just going to get something to eat, as a matter of fact."

Toshiro smiled. "Well, I know a place, if you, er, like?"

Rukia stepped forward and leaned into him, placing her lips next to his ear. "I like," she whispered huskily, "very much."

Toshiro closed his eyes and swallowed as her scent invaded his senses, lust coiling low in the pit of his stomach. "Fuck..." he breathed, opening his eyes and staring into hers. "You have no idea what you do to me."

Rukia tilted her head to one side, suddenly looking thoughtful. "Say... do you think our stargazing session counts as a date?" she asked.

Toshiro shrugged. "I think that you could think of it that way."

"So dinner would be our second date?" she clarified, smiling.

"Yes, I suppose it would be."

"Good." Toshiro bit his lip, wondering what she was thinking. She turned and began to walk away, looking back at him over her shoulder. "The restaurant is this way, right?"

"Yes, it is." She walked quickly, he had to jog a little to catch up with her. "Why is it good?"

Rukia glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and grinned. "Because if it's a second date I can let you take me home afterwards."

Toshiro chocked on the breath he was taking. "W-what?"

Rukia stared into his eyes and grinned predatory. "That was a very large bulge you presented to me the other night," she said, leaning in until all he could see were her eyes. "I want to know what it feels like without the fabric." Her lips brushed lightly against his as he spoke and he was glad to have tied his fundoshi tightly that morning as he felt his cock begin to press against the twisted cotton.

"I want you to find out right now," he breathed, biting back a moan.

"In the middle of the street?" she replied teasingly. "I don't think so."

Toshiro groaned and rubbed his fingers through his hair. "You are such a tease!" he accused.

Rukia's eyes darkened and she shook her head. "I'm not a tease," she protested. "I follow through. Find a suitable place and I will."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

Toshiro stepped forward and swept Rukia into his arms. He had to move quickly, before she changed her mind. Her half formed protests were silenced as he flash-stepped away from the street, away from Seireitai to an abandoned shrine on the outskirts of Rukongai, where he set her down gently.

"Where are we?" she asked, staring around. "This isn't what I had in mind."

Toshiro followed her gaze to the battered doors of the shrine, the varnish chipped and peeling, the paper in the windows long since shredded. "Don't worry," he said, smiling. "Follow me. I've got a surprise for you."

He led her around the side of the shrine to the apple orchard behind it. The trees were in full bloom, petals falling to the ground like snow throughout the field. She gripped his hand tightly as she stared around at the drifting blossoms.

"It's beautiful."

"Is this more what you had in mind?" he asked. She turned to him, her eyes shining, and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro, this is perfect," she declared before she kissed him, pressing her slim body against his. He groaned at the feel of her soft breasts pressing into his chest and pulled her tight against him, deepening the kiss. She was intoxicating, her scent hung in the air around him as he buried his hand into her soft hair, the other arm wrapped around her waist. He had to bite back a whimper as she pulled away, but let go. His arms felt empty without her.

Rukia smiled at him and tugged at the knot that tied his obi, pulling him further into the orchard. Once they were in the center she whirled and pushed him against a tree, kissing him fiercely as her hands tugged at his clothes. Breathless, he reached for her kimono, tugging it out of her obi and pushing it off of her shoulders. He was about to pull away from the kiss and look at her when he gasped at the feel of cool air against his legs. Rukia grinned, holding up his obi triumphantly.

"Not so fast," she said, her chest heaving. He could see the her nipples jutting though the thin white fabric of her under-kimono and felt his cock twitch at the sight. The fabric was damp with pre-come and the slight friction made him shudder.

"I want to taste you," he gasped, reaching for her. Rukia's eyes widened and her mouth opened in surprise as he grasped her shoulders and spun so that she was the one pressed against the tree. He untied her already loosened obi and parted her kimono, kissing the soft skin of her stomach. He felt her tense, and looked up into her wide eyes.

"Relax," he whispered into her navel as his hands undid the ties to her hakama and gently slid the fabric down her smooth thighs. "It'll feel good, I promise." He lifted one of her legs and tucked his shoulder under her thigh. Her kimono fell aside, revealing her to him.

She was wearing modern underwear. He pressed a finger into the damp patch spreading across the cotton and she jumped slightly. The heady scent of her arousal filled the air around them and he couldn't resist the urge to press his nose into the fabric and breath deeply.

"You smell so good," he groaned, hooking the elastic with his finger and uncovering his target. She was wet, warm stickiness clung to his fingertip as he traced the outline of her opening before sliding the digit inside of her. She gasped, her hips jerking forward slightly, and he realised that he couldn't lick her properly with the annoying scrap of fabric in the way, but he couldn't get it off without a lot of moving around. Rukia moved again, seeking more friction and he growled, extending a tendril of his reiatsu to her hip, where the fabric was thinnest. He froze the cotton, and then crumbled it between his fingers before pushing the remains of the underwear down the leg she was balancing on and and rubbing his tongue across her clit simultaneously. Rukia screamed and grabbed at his shoulders for balance as her legs trembled.

"Oh! Oh, please!" she whimpered.

"Please what?" he asked, pleased to finally be in control, even if his cock was throbbing inside his fundoshi and he wasn't sure how long he could keep up the tease. He scratched lightly at the soft hairs covering her groin, his fingers tantalisingly close to where he knew she wanted to be touched.

"Please, d-do that again."

Toshiro grinned, and began to work a second finger inside of her as he licked her again, varying the pressure to find out what made her shiver the most. Her fingers clenched his shoulders as she fought to keep her balance on trembling legs and as much as he wanted to, he knew that he probably shouldn't bring her to orgasm like this. She might fall over afterwards.

Reluctantly he pulled away and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. He shrugged off the rest of his clothes, leaving his underwear on when she tapped his wrist as he started to unwrap it.

"I'll do that," she said, helping him lay out their clothes into a makeshift blanket. Once they had finished she pressed him down into the patchwork of black and white cloth and hovered above him, trailing a hand down his chest. "My turn," she whispered as she leaned in for a kiss, her deliciously cool fingers trailing down over his stomach to tangle in the soft cotton where it twisted around his hips. He felt his breath catch in his throat as she moved lower, tonguing his navel as she pulled the irritating fabric off. His cock sprang up, smacking against the soft skin of her breast. The unexpected sensation made him shudder, and she pressed down firmly on his hips with both hands as she caught the tip of his aching erection in her mouth.

He heard himself groan as she sucked lightly, before licking from base to tip several times, leaving his cock glistening and wet. Then she climbed over him, and he stared in wonder as she positioned herself carefully, watched entranced as she lowered herself, her tight, wet heat enveloping him.

"Fuck, Rukia!"

A wicked grin slid over her face. "I thought you might like that," she teased.

His hands gripped her slender waist as he pumped up into her, and she lost her composure as the first flushes of pleasure darkened her white skin. Unconsciously she leaned forward, and he managed to twist his head to capture one pert nipple with his teeth. He wasn't going to last long, and judging by the way her breath was hitching, neither was she. He could feel her inner muscles tightening around his cock and the knowledge that she was about to orgasm pushed him over the edge. The feel of his cock pulsing inside her made her shudder and grip him tight as she came.

She fell sideways and he twisted with her, not wanting to be pulled from her quite so soon. They lay panting under the apple trees, a single petal drifting down from the branches to land in Rukia's dark hair.

"You've ruined my underwear," was her first comment.

Toshiro smirked. "You didn't seem to mind at the time."

Moving slowly, they dressed and left the orchard. Rukia looked at the sky, and then at the distant buildings and sighed. "I'm hungry now."

"Me too," Toshiro told her, smiling. "Come on, there's a nice place not too far away."

"In Rukongai?" she asked doubtfully.

"There are nice places in Rukongai," he protested.

"Just none near where I grew up."

"Well, there are lots near where I grew up. Come on."

xxx

The restaurant he took her too was nice, a lot nicer than she had expected. They sat in a corner booth and ate hand-made ramen from two huge bowls. The waitress greeted Toshiro as "Hitsugaya-kun" and seemed surprised to see Rukia, although she was too polite to comment.

"Do you come here a lot?" she asked, nibbling on her pickle.

"Sometimes. Usually on my own, though. Or I bring Granny, when she lets me."

"What about Hinamori-san?"

Toshiro shook his head. "For a start, she hates ramen as much as I love it. I never really liked socialising with her anyway. She doesn't keep her promises."

"What do you mean?"

Toshiro scowled. "It sounds childish."

Rukia smiled. "Hitsugaya Toshiro, I think that I, of all people, know that you are not a child. This is obviously important to you, so tell me."

Toshiro sighed. "She promised that once I became a student at the Academy that she would stop calling me 'Shiro-chan'. I made Captain, and she _still_ calls me Shiro-chan! I hate that name."

"I don't blame you," Rukia replied calmly. "Although the other extreme can be annoying too. Renji became overly formal with me once I was adopted into the Kuchiki household. It's taken forever for him to call me 'Rukia' again, and that's what I prefer to be called. I'm only a Kuchiki by proxy... I've never been particularly comfortable with the name and all it implies."

Toshiro smiled at her and stirred his ramen with his chopsticks. "You might not be comfortable with it, but you carry the name well," he replied. Then his eyes widened in alarm and all the colour drained from his face as he stared over her shoulder. She twisted in her seat, and bit her lip.

A very familiar figure was standing in the doorway, staring at her in consternation. She wished that it wasn't too late to hide under the table. Byakuya's perfectly arched eyebrows drew together in an almost imperceptible frown.

"Rukia. Follow me," he ordered, before turning and sweeping out of the door.

Rukia gave Toshiro an apologetic look before scrambling out of her seat, leaving her ramen half eaten. Byakuya was already out of the restaurant, and she knew that his irritation would only increase if he had to wait for her to catch up. She managed one regretful glance over her shoulder before she passed through the doorway. Toshiro was sitting as if frozen, in the act of bringing noodles to his mouth, the strangest look of longing, fear and frustration stamped on his features. In the split second before she had to turn away, his expression changed to one of reassurance as he smiled regretfully at her.

A wave of relief swept through her at the smile. He understood. Everything would be all right.

Xxx

Omake:

Skarla: Do you think Byakuya plucks his eyebrows?

Rukia: Anything is possible.

xxx

A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait for this chapter! I had University deadlines, and then I had to move house, and everything has been rather hectic with no time to sit down and write. I am now looking for a job, but will hopefully have time to work on and finish this fic between job hunts.

Did the lemon make up for it?


	9. Chapter 9

Rukia followed her brother as he strode along the suddenly deserted streets, moving quickly without seeming to hurry. Years of studying his body language meant she knew only that he was annoyed. His shoulders were stiff, and his eyes peered straight ahead, not sweeping from side to side in a slow arc as they did when he was relaxed. He might even be angry; without seeing his face she couldn't be sure, and even then it was hard to tell. He moved gracefully, and she knew that her own headlong progress as she strained to keep up with him seemed clumsy by comparison.

They travelled in silence until the gates of the Kuchiki Manor, and there he dismissed his escort with a soft word. Slowly they paced through the spotless halls, the occasional flash of colour down a side corridor the only indication that the servants knew the master was home, and were finding alternative routes to do their assigned tasks. Byakuya paused at the doorway to his sitting room, before continuing down the hallway to his study. He sat behind his large, polished desk, and Rukia sank to her knees as gracefully as she could manage, bowing her head and fixing her gaze on her clasped hands.

"How long has this been going on?" came the first question, each word sharply distinct.

"It had only just begun, Nii-sama," Rukia replied softly.

"You are aware of your position within the family," Byakuya continued, his voice soft. "You are not to dally with individuals of such low rank. It seems you have forgotten this, or I have grown lax in reminding you?"

"Hitsugaya Toushiro is a Captain," Rukia protested. "Hardly one of low rank…"

Byakuya sighed dismissively. "Rukia. Hitsugaya Toshiro is from Rukongai, and has no ranking within the nobility of Soul Society. As a member of one of the noble families, you will be expected to marry nobility. Anything else is unacceptable."

"Hitsugaya Toshiro is a far more compatible match than some noble who has never even swung a sword!" Rukia cried, abandoning the pretence of civility in her annoyance. "And in case you have forgotten, I am from Rukongai too!"

"All the more reason for you to marry a noble," Byakuya said calmly. "As for your supposed _compatibility_, I am seriously considering removing you from the Gotei 13, so that you may more easily study the habits and practices you will need once you are married. I see from your behaviour that I may have put this off for too long."

"What?"

"I will be arranging your removal from your post in the 13th Division."

"You… you can't do that!" Rukia cried in disbelief.

Byakuya shook his head slowly. He didn't even need to tell her that he could; Kuchiki Byakuya had never let a little thing like right or wrong hamper him when tending to his family duties. Rukia felt tears welling in her eyes, and fled the room before they fell, not wanting her distant brother to see her cry. Not for the first time, she wondered how her sister could have loved such an emotionless man.

When Rukia reached her room, eyes stinging and cheeks uncomfortably flushed, she saw at once that the servants had already been in to lay out her futon. She threw herself face down onto it and shook, curling up into a trembling ball as she stared blindly out the window. The expected tears did not fall; she was too numb to cry.

She stared numbly at the shining white blossoms of the plum tree outside her window, and tried to wrap her mind around the concept that she might no longer be a Shinigami. Ever since she and Renji had left the streets of Rukongai, her goal had been to be a Shinigami. During her training with Kaien, and later on her own without him, she had wished to be the best Shinigami that she could be. Even adoption into the Kuchiki clan had not interfered with her goal, and despite her sister's wishes, she found herself wondering whether the status of being an adopted noble, and the accompanying stigma from the other nobles, would really be worth giving up her dream. After all, Renji had managed perfectly well by himself.

She ignored the small voice that pointed out that Renji, brilliant, vibrant Renji, was far more powerful than she was, and his easygoing nature made sure that he made friends easily, friends who were always willing to help him out of tight spots. She knew that better than anyone; she had been one of the first. Besides, Hisana had wanted her in this house, with her. Despite the fact that Hisana was gone, reincarnated somewhere in the real world, her soul carrying no memories of her previous life, Rukia still wanted to honour her wishes.

Leaving the thirteenth squad… it meant leaving Ukitake-taichou's patient leadership and her memories of Kaien, leaving a place that she thought of as 'home'. Rukia swallowed around the large lump that had formed in her throat and blinked as a scalding hot tear fell from her eyelashes onto her hand. The golden light of the sunlight fell across her floor and warmed her cold fingers, but she still shivered.

She didn't want to leave.

ooo

Ichigo was walking towards the Senkai gate site, enjoying the sunshine on his day off – of course, the sun always seemed to be shining in Soul Society, but it hadn't been long enough for the novelty to wear off yet – when he was ambushed by the Vice-Captain of the 9th.

"Kurosaki!" the tattooed shinigami shouted. "Wait! I need your help."

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo paused, Zangetsu slapping gently against his back. "Has Urahara done something?" he asked, remembering the meeting the day before, where Urahara aired his plans for his new division, to the shock of most of the Captains and Vice-Captains.

Panting, Hisagi rested his hands on his knees. "Nothing more than you heard yesterday," he replied with a wry grin. "I'm heading the first team, and as I knew that you were visiting your sisters this afternoon, I wondered if I could accompany you. The team would join us tomorrow, but I want to have a head start."

"I don't see a problem with that," Ichigo said, rubbing his hand through his hair. "You can probably have dinner at my house, before you head to the Shop. Yuzu will panic that there won't be enough food, but she always cooks too much anyway…"

"I wouldn't want to cause any trouble," Hisagi protested, rubbing a hand absently over the stark numbers tattooed on his cheek.

"Naw... to be honest, she's probably hoping that the old man will show up, even though he called to tell her that he wouldn't be this week. You'll be a distraction from the disappointment."

Several hours later, Shuuhei stared at the little house with it's cheerful blue sign and felt his stomach drop to the level of the nice black boots Tessai had provided with the gigai. It seemed that the large Kido-master had better taste than Urahara, even he could see that the clothing was acceptable for the modern era. There was a flash of bright hair by the window, whoever it was dashing by too quickly for Shuuhei to see if it was Orihime or Ichigo.

The Vice-Captain had spent a productive afternoon window shopping and using his sharp hearing to eavesdrop on the speech patterns and slang being used between friends and co-workers. He had come across several of the Vending Machines that Renji had enthused over, and had bought a juice box, finding the brightly written instructions hard to decipher. Now the sun was setting and his stomach was growling, but he couldn't quiet bring himself to walk up to the door, unreasonably terrified of what he would find inside.

A flash of orange went by the window again, followed by a muffled shout. It was too late; he had been spotted.

Orihime came flying out onto the pavement, smiling happily. "Hisagi-san!" she called chirpily. "Come in! Dinner is nearly ready. Yuzu-chan has been cooking really hard, and I made the salad." Hisagi grinned weakly as he followed her inside, making a mental note not to touch the salad.

Inside the house was warm with delicious smells wafting down the hallway. Shuuhei pulled off his shoes and put them neatly side by side. Orihime disappeared down the hallway and Shuuhei followed nervously. There seemed to be a lot of clattering coming from the room to the left, peering around the door revealed a bright kitchen, warm light pouring through the west facing windows. A small girl, her hair clipped back with bright butterfly clips, was running around the table with a wooden spoon in one hand, the other tucked inside a rabbit patterned oven glove. She skidded to a halt in front of the oven, pulled open the door and used the spoon to baste a large chicken sizzling inside.

"That smells done, Yuzu," said a bored voice from behind him. Shuuhei started and spun around. Behind him, arms folded tightly across her chest, stood a slim black haired girl with Kurosaki's eyebrows. "You must be Hisagi Shuuhei."

"Yes, I am."

Karin frowned. "Do you play football?"

"Uh…."

"Toshiro plays football. Why couldn't Ichi-nii bring him?"

It took Shuuhei a moment to realise that she was talking about Hitsugaya-Taicho. The thought of the icy Captain playing football with school children made him smile. "Hitsugaya Toshiro is busy running his Division," he replied solemnly. "I'm sure he would like to be here if he was able."

"What do you do?" came the next question. The girl moved around him to sit at the table, regarding him carefully.

"I'm a Vice-Captain," Shuuhei replied, moving hesitantly into the room and leaning against the wall.

"Doesn't that mean that you have a Division to help run?"

Shuuhei shrugged. "My Captain ordered me to come here. Our Division is going to be the one taking most of the missions and patrols in the Rea- um, here. So we need to learn more about how things are changing."

Karin scowled. "What do you mean, changing?" she demanded. Yuzu, apparently oblivious to the conversation, placed a bowl of steaming potatoes in front of her.

"Things are different to the way they were fourty years ago," Shuuhei replied. "Things have changed, and Shinigami are increasingly out of their depth. There are machines and laws and customs that are different to the way that things used to be."

"Hmph." As she opened her mouth to ask another question Ichigo and Orihime swept into the kitchen carrying a large bowl of salad. Shuuhei peered at it suspiciously. It looked… deceptively normal. Tomatoes and lettuce drizzled over with some sort of sauce.

"I made the sauce myself!" Orihime said proudly as she set it on the table.

"That's wonderful!" Yuzu said distractedly, pulling a large stack of plates out of a cupboard.

"Glad you could make it," Ichigo whispered to Shuuhei. "The three of them can be a bit much when I'm on my own."

Shuuhei managed a smile in return as he stepped forward with Ichigo to sit down. Karin was still frowning, Orihime, please with her accomplishment, bounced happily in her chair, and Yuzu carefully folded the oven gloves before picking up a serving spoon.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime called, still bouncing. "You have to try some of my salad!"

Shuuhei found himself stifling a snigger at the look of absolute dismay that passed over Ichigo's face. He smiled at Yuzu as she carved up the chicken and sat back in his chair. If nothing else, this would be an interesting meal.

ooo

Ukitake Juushiro stared numbly at the sheaf of papers that the Sixth Division's fourth seat had just handed him. Orders that involved the removal of Kuchiki Rukia from his squad. He had already read them three times, but found his eyes skimming over the papers again, hoping that the words had changed. He didn't want to let her go...

His mind wandered back to her first day as a squad member, so small that they had had to have a uniform made specially for her.

/

_ Juushiro stifled a giggle as he came into his office and caught sight of his fukutaicho, asleep at his desk with his mouth gaping open and a ladybird perched on the end of his nose. Carefully he tiptoed over to his desk and sat carefully, hoping that he wouldn't cough and disturb the ladybird – Kaien could sleep through an earthquake._

_A soft snore eminated from Kaien's parted mouth, and the ladybird fluttered it's wings in the breeze created. Smiling, Ukitake leant back in his chair and watched, wondering if the ladybird would fly away before the young Shiba woke up. He half wished that he had a camera with him, but didn't dare leave the office to go get one._

_A large crashing noise from outside echoed through the quiet halls, and Kaien jumped awake with a start__. The ladybird, unbalanced, fluttered desparately and fell into his mouth. Ukitake shook with suppressed laughter at the look at surprised dismay painted across his Vice-__Captain's face as the dark haired Shinigami spat__ the ladybird out into his __hand,__i__t__'s__ bright red wing cases __stirring__sluggishly. Rolling his eyes, Kaien placed the insect gently on the windowsill in a patch of sunlight._

"_What if it gets too hot?" Juushiro asked, trying to hide his amusement. The scowl Kaien shot his way proved that his e__fforts were unsuccessful._

"_It's wings need to dry out," he said grumpily._

_The small, touseled head of Kuchiki Rukia peeped around the door to the office, her violet eyes wide with alarm. "Ukitake-taicho!" she called. "Kaien-fukutaicho! Please come quickly."_

"_What is it, Rukia?" Kaien asked, smiling at her windswept hair._

"_It's Kotesu-san and Kotsubaki-san, Kaien-fukutaicho. They're fighting."_

"_Oh, is that all?" Kaien sighed and stretched lazily. "No rush then."_

"_Kaien-fukutaicho?" The confusion on Ruk__ia's face was priceless, and Ukitake found himself once again suppressing a smile._

"_They do it all the time," he reassured her, and she smiled shyly in response._

_Kaien grinned. "Yup! Good thing I'll be around for a while, I hate to imagine how they'd be if they were squabbling over my position!"_

_Juushiro watched as they walked out the door, the tall, muscular frame of his Vice-captain contrasting strongly with the delicately petite form of his newest member, both showing determination in the way that they walked and grace in their every gesture, as Rukia earnestly explained what she had seen and Kaien dismissed it with an easy laugh. The stamp of nobility, even in Kaien's own special case, was as clear in their actions as it was in his own._

_He knew that she would make him proud, as he already did._

/

With a heavy sigh, Juushiro rested his head in his hands. He missed Kaien more than anyone guessed, except perhaps for Rukia, who missed him just as much. Once she was gone, there would be no-one else who turned to look at the patch of sunlight by the door and smile at the memories of Kaien sitting there. The rest of the Division seemed determined to forget that they had ever had a Vice-Captain. Without Rukia, he feared that he would loose his determination to remember.

Xxxx

TKCB: Ok, well it;s up to me to write another omake, and I'm not really sure what to do, but-

*Crash bang wallop*

Isshin: Am I too late?

TKCB: For what?

Isshin: Dinner of course!

Karin: Dad, dinner was hours ago.

Isshin: Whaaaat? Nooo! I pulled so many strings to get out of Soul Society! I'm sick of the commisary food, I want real food! Yuzu, pleeeeease, make me somthing!

Yuzu: Of course I-

Karin: She's not making you a thing. Not even a salad.

Isshin: Ah, Karin! You're so cruel! Just like Ichigo! Oh, Masaki! Where have I gone wrong! *fades away into the distance, wailing*

Karin: That'll keep him occupied for _days_.

Yuzu: You're so mean!

Karin: *triumphant smirk*

Many apologies for the long wait! I started a new job, and I have no time for a life anymore. More than half of this was written in snippets at work and then emailed to myself! I am determined to finish the last few chapters of this story however.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Matsumoto Rangiku peeped around the large stacks of paperwork adorning her desk, careful not to let her Captain see that she was looking. Her caution was unnecessary. Hitsugaya was staring out of the window, his chin resting on the heel of his hand, in the exact same position that he had been in the last time she had looked, and the time before, and the time before that. In fact, he had held the same position for the last three hours.

A bright flash of red caught her eye, and she turned to see Renji pulling a face at her from the doorway. Warningly, she shook her head at him, motioning towards Hitsugaya. Well, it probably looked like she was pointing at a stack of paperwork, but Renji seemed to get the message. He pointed at the window behind her and raised an eyebrow. Motioning for him to wait a minute, Rangiku again leant carefully around her concealing stack of paperwork.

He was still staring out the window.

Carefully she slid out of her chair and tiptoed backwards until she felt the hard edge of the windowsill against the top of her thighs. Renji winked at her and vanished from the doorway. Carefully she inched backwards onto the windowsill, getting her feet underneath her before jumping backwards. Bending her knees she relaxed her muscles in preparation for landing. She did not expect a pair of warm hands to grasp her firmly by the waist before she hit the ground. Renji couldn't have got outside so fast, so who had caught her? A strangely familiar warm chuckle reached her ears as she tensed, ready to spring out of the hold whoever-it-was had on her.

"Relax, it's only me."

She did relax, once she recognised that Kurosaki Ichigo was the one who had hold of her.

"I should have guessed that if Renji was skulking about you wouldn't be far away," she teased as he set her down.

"I was hardly skulking," Renji protested as he jogged up to them.

The two Vice-Captains turned towards the exit and began walking on either side of her. "We have a bit of a problem," Renji began as he steered them towards the large gates.

"Does it have anything to do with why my Captain has been staring vacantly out of the window all morning?"

Ichigo snorted. "He's only staring out the window? He must not know the full story then."

"What _is_ the full story?"

Renji sighed. "From what we have been able to piece together, Rukia and Toshiro went on a date last night. Kuchiki-taicho stumbled across them, and got pissed."

"Rukia is being removed from the Division, and not just that, he's taking her from the Gotei 13 completely," Ichigo added, having seen the paperwork on Ukitake's desk that morning.

"I reckon Kuchiki-taicho is planning on making her more of a noble, giving her etiquette lessons and shit like that, before he marries her off to someone he thinks is 'suitable'," Renji groused.

Rangiku stared at him in horror. "But… he can't do that!" she protested.

"Unfortunately, it looks like he can," Ichigo replied. "Toshiro doesn't know, right?"

Matsumoto stared over her shoulder at the window to the office. "I really don't want to be around when he finds out," she whispered.

Renji sighed. "I really need to get back to work, and you should probably make sure those third seats of yours aren't bothering Ukitake-taicho, Ichigo."

"Nah, he can handle them. I was gonna go see if I can get permission to talk to Rukia; she pulled me back from the Real World this morning with a hell butterfly. I'm supposed to be visiting my sisters right now."

"Did they mind?" Rangiku asked. She had met the pair a few times, and Karin didn't seem particularly forgiving.

Ichigo grinned. "I took Hisagi Shuuhei with me this time. They thought that teaching him how Karakura works was a great idea. I think they're trying to get him to pay for them to go to the cinema today."

The three of them shared a laugh at the thought of the tough Vice-Captain being dragged around by two small girls that barely came up to his waist.

Xxx

Kira stared around the once-pristine office that used to belong to Ichimaru Gin and sighed. A large poster of a woman that he hadn't managed to catch the name of now adorned the wall opposite the door. Her smiling face had cheered him up, until he had caught his new Captain sobbing beside her with a broken communicator on the floor next to him. Between the hiccups he had made out the words 'daughters', 'puberty' and 'missing everything'. Deciding that it was imperative that he examine the kido skills of the new recruits that morning, he left his new Captain to it, after making a mental note to order another box of communicators from the 12th Division. Kurosaki-taicho seemed to go through three a week.

In the morning light streaming through the window, the office was almost unrecognisable. Around the poster a flock of smaller photographs and letters had been stuck to the wall. Most of them pictured two small girls, one with brown hair and one with black. The one with black hair looked a lot like Kurosaki Ichigo. The large desk that Ichimaru had sat behind was covered in a bright chequered tablecloth. A large pile of home-baked goodies sat in the middle, and there wasn't a single sheet of paperwork to be seen. Kira's desk looked boring by comparison, and he briefly contemplated finding a potted plant or something to brighten it up, before dismissing the thought as ridiculous. The room was an office; it did not need to be cheerful.

He sat down and pulled the stack of reports he needed to look over that morning out of a drawer, angling his head so that the spike of hair that fell across his face shaded his eyes from the bright sunshine pouring through the window. The sudden lack of light was his only warning before his eccentric new Captain, who had jumped in through the window, was peering closely into his face, completely disregarding all the unwritten social rules regarding personal space.

Kira yelped in an embarrassingly girlish way and wrenched himself backwards, managing to tip his chair over in the process. He lay on the floor, adrenaline pumping through his veins, and contemplated the new bruises that had formed. Kurosaki-taicho crouched on his desk, peering down at him with tears in his eyes.

"Kira-kun!" he bellowed. "Aren't you pleased to see me?"

"O-of course I am, Kurosaki-taicho." Kira replied, trying not to cringe – he knew that that would only make the man more upset.

"Good!" suddenly the tears vanished and Kurosaki was bouncing over to the other side of the room. "My beautiful daughter sent me some of her delicious cooking. You have to try it!"

Kira stared at the large pile of food on the desk. He was pretty sure that if Kurosaki-taicho sat down, he would be hidden behind it. It looked delicious, but Kira felt a shiver of dread nonetheless. Would he be expected to help Kurosaki-taicho eat all of it?

"Maybe you should invite Kurosaki-fukitaicho," he said as he approached the mound of food. "I'm sure he misses his sister's cooking."

Kurosaki beamed at him. "That is an excellent idea!" he crowed. "I knew that you would break the blond stereotype!"

Kira stared after him in astonishment as he bounded out of the office in search of a hell butterfly, not sure whether to be amused or insulted.

Kurosaki reappeared less than five minutes later, dragging his son in one hand and a spare chair in the other. He deposited the chair at the edge of the desk, and Ichigo into the chair, pointing at the pile of food in a menacing fashion. Kira cringed.

Ichigo was obviously more used to this treatment than Kira was. His brown eyes lit up at the size of the pile, and the frown that usually bent his eyebrows faded slightly.

"Yuzu?" he asked. "Awesome. This almost makes up for you kidnapping me."

"I did not kidnap you!" Kurosaki roared in protest.

Kira sighed and pulled his own chair out from behind his desk, sat at the edge of his Captains and began to look over the mountain of food. There was a small pile of plates and napkins next to it, he noticed. The argument continued on the other side of the heap.

"I was minding my own business-"

"Looked like you were trying to sneak into the Kuchiki Mansion to me!"

"-trying to visit a friend!"

"What are you doing visiting friends anyway!" Kurosaki bellowed. "You are supposed to be visiting your beloved sisters!"

Kira, peering closer at the food, noticed a small container with his name written on the top and reached for it curiously. Perhaps his Captain had been writing about him in his letters? Kira opened it carefully and found that it was full of individually wrapped Mizuyōkan*, and a small note that read:

'I haven't tried to make this before, I hope that you enjoy them! Yuzu'

Kira smiled and bit into his favourite treat, ignoring the argument still occurring on the other side of the table. Perhaps having Kurosaki Isshin as a Captain wouldn't be so bad after all.

Xxx

Toshiro looked up in surprise as a small paper bag was deposited in front of his nose. Ukitake's smiled at him, but the smile did not reach his dark brown eyes, eyes that were sadder than Toshiro had ever seen them. He almost asked what was wrong, but that would have been preemptive, so he settled for raising an eyebrow, purposefully ignoring the bag of sweets.

Ukitake sighed and leant against the desk. "I have some bad news for you," he said, staring out of the window rather than meeting Toshiro's eyes.

"What is it? Has Matsumoto done something?" He had noticed several hours ago that his Vice-Captain was missing, but hadn't worried too much about what she could have been up to – he had assumed that she had crept out to drink sake. Whatever it was, it must be pretty major to have Ukitake looking as sad as he did.

"No, it's not Matsumoto. It's Kuchiki Rukia." Toshiro suddenly shivered, an odd feeling settling into his stomach. He knew that he really did not want to hear what Ukitake-taicho was about to say. "Kuchiki Byakuya has seen fit to remove her from my Division, and from the Gotei 13 completely."

"What?"

"He intends to have her start etiquette lessons and learn to play the mandolin, I expect."

Toshiro frowned as his stomach knotted into a hard lump. He didn't want to believe it, but Ukitake's sad face told him that he was telling the truth.

"I can't challenge it," Ukitake continued. "I tried speaking to Yamamoto, but he said that there was nothing that he could do about it – he wasn't particularly happy about it either. Rukia was shaping up into a fine Shinigami, but there's some obscure rule that Byakuya has dug out of the archives that allows it."

Toshiro's chest began to ache as he realised that if Byakuya had his way, he and Rukia would never see each other again. Anger filled him at the realisation, and he barely noticed when Ukitake left the room. Toshiro moved to the window, so torn between anger, disbelief and despair that he didn't know what to do. He could feel the tight hold he normally kept over his reiatsu slipping as the storm of emotions raged inside him. With dry eyes he stared out of the window, knowing that he couldn't see the Kuchiki Mansion from his office, but hoping that somehow the buildings and towers in the way would magically vanish.

He wanted to see her.

xxx

Renji looked up in surprise as something cold landed lightly on his cheek. The sky was clear and the sunlight bright; he hadn't expected rain. Bright blue arched over his head, a deep colour that seemed to shimmer… snow was falling. Renji took a moment to admire the contrast between the azure sky and the sparkling white snowflakes, before allowing himself to realise what the sight meant.

Someone had told Toshiro.

Careful to keep his emotions from showing on his face, Renji continued on his journey to the Kuchiki mansion. Byakuya, sitting behind his desk like an unconcerned marble and ebony sculpture, had ordered him to check on Rukia that afternoon. Renji found himself slightly reluctant to face his childhood friend. He couldn't stand it when she cried.

He spotted her before he reached at the front door, standing on the walkway overlooking the koi pond, her face turned to the sky. She was wearing a light blue and white kimono and looked as fragile as the snowflakes that drifted down around her, dancing a little over the palms of her outstretched hands. Hesitantly he approached her, not wanting to intrude on her moment.

"He sent these, didn't he?" she asked in a whisper that somehow still managed to reach his ears.

"Yes," Renji replied, his voice sounding harsh in the quiet of the garden.

"They're saturated with his reiatsu," she continued. "He is so sad and angry… can't you taste the lonliness?"

Renji stepped up to her as quietly as he could and stood in silence as she stared over the garden, not wanting to disturb her. She turned to look at him, and although her eyes were red from crying, they were wide in wonder.

"What is it?" he couldn't help but ask.

Rukia shook her head slowly. "I never expected him to care this much. It's only been a few days…"

Renji smiled at her. "If I know anything about Hitsugaya Toshiro, I know that he wouldn't enter into a relationship that he wasn't sure about. I expect he's been admiring you for years. You match."

"What, you mean our Zanpakuto?"

"Not just that. You have similar personalities, you're both so serious most of the time. People expect great things from both of you, and yet underestimate you at the same time."

Rukia nodded and turned back to the garden. "Renji?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Nii-sama will change his mind?"

Renji shrugged. "I dunno. I hope he does. I really hope so."

xxx

* Mizuyōkan is made of agar-agar, which is down in Bleachwiki as Kira's favourite food. Seeing as I don't think you can eat it on it's own, I looked into what could be made from it, and Mizuyōkan looked tasty.

A/N: Sorry that this chapter ended up being so depressing... still, we're in a depressing part of the story, and everyone knows that there will be a happy ending, right? Apologies also for the delay! This chapter was finished two weeks ago, but the beta-ing took ages. I sincerely apologise.

Omake:

Shuuhei: You left me with two children!

Ichigo: Yeah, so? They can't hurt you.

Shuugei: The last time I was left with children I ended up with a new tattoo!

Isshin: What is this? Ichigo, you left my beloved daughters with a gangster?

Ichigo: *facepalm* Shuuhei is not a gangster!

Isshin: I cannot believe that you would be so careless as to leave your siblings in such a predicament!

Ichigo: And what predicament is that?

Isshin: And what if he gets them pregnant?

Shuuhei: wait, what? They're, like, over 100 years younger than me! That's sick!

Isshin: Oh Masaki! I'm too young to be a grandfather!

Ichigo: It's best if we leave now...


	11. Chapter 11

Warning! This chapter contains Yaoi. If you don't like that, read to the first 'xxx' then skip to the next 'xxx' and you miss anything other than vague references.

One Week Later:

Renji and Ichigo stumbled through the senkaimon in the basement training room of the Shouten. It was deserted, and they took a moment to sigh in relief.

"This week has been hell," Renji groaned. His legs felt a little shaky and he wished that he dared lean on Ichigo for support.His head was pounding, his guts knotted and he suspected that he was developing several telling muscle spasms. Stress induced, of course, but he was beginning to wonder if Byakuya's actions separating Rukia from most of the rest of Soul Society would eventually do him more damage than fighting Aizen's Espada had done.

It hadn't started too badly. Rukia had been sad, Hitsugaya had been angry, and the snow hadn't really settled. After three days, most of Seireitei was under a thick blanket of icy whiteness, and rumours said that the effects had spread to Rukongai. According to Rangiku, Hitsugaya wasn't actively raging, he spend most of his time staring out of the window. Rukia spent most of her time wandering in the snow-caked gardens of the Kuchiki mansion, and Renji suspected that if he hadn't had the forethought to wear two pairs of socks, he would have a cold by now, on top of the stress. Seven days into the snowstorm, and all training that could not be carried out indoors had been cancelled, which effectively put a ban on kido and shikai training, and limited everyone to kendo. Renji was sure that the 11th were all going stir crazy, while the 4th were run off of their feet treating a variety of snow and ice related injuries and sicknesses.

Dealing with Rukia had been… difficult, dealing with Byakuya even more so, especially when Yamamoto, furious at the incursion of snow, had melted a path through the streets with his reiatsu to speak to him personally. The Captain-Commander seemed to know already that talking to Hitsugaya wouldn't change anything. Rangiku had been managing the division alone since Ukitake had broken the news to him.

"Let's go to my house, we can get Yuzu to cook us dinner," Ichigo suggested. "Saves you from having to put up with Jinta and his hero-worship."

Renji shuddered. "Normally I don't mind, but today the thought is unbearable."

"I know exactly what you mean."

Sharing a weary smile, they summoned the concentration needed to use shunpo, and sped out of the shop and down the quiet streets to the Kurosaki Clinic. Once outside, Renji automatically turned towards the side of the house and Ichigo's window, before remembering that the time for secrecy was long over. Ichigo was staring at him, an amused grin pasted over his face.

"I have a key, we don't need to break in," he said, twirling his keyring at the end of his finger.

Renji flushed with embarrassment. "Shut up," he grumbled as he waited for Ichigo to let them in. Ichigo smirked at him over his shoulder, before pushing open the door and stepping inside.

"Yuzu! Karin! Inoue!" he called. Renji kicked his trainers off, looking over at Ichigo curiously when his orange haired companion failed to do the same.

"They didn't reply," Ichigo said, puzzled.

"Probably out shopping," Renji suggested.

"Yeah, maybe."

They dumped the rucksacks full of gifts that they had carried from Soul Society, and moved into the front room, where a stark square of paper taped to the TV screen immediately caught Renji's eye. "What's that?" he asked, pointing. Ichigo strode over and carefully peeled the paper away, standing with one hand on his hip as he read the note.

Renji watched in amusement from his seat on the sofa as Ichigo's frown deepened as his eyes tracked across the page. Finally the frown lines smoothed out and a grin began to spread across his face. He looked at Renji over the top of the note and raised an eyebrow.

"It appears that we have the place to ourselves; the girls have gone to the beach. We have a 'fridge full of food, and this month's paycheck in our pockets. Let's get drunk."

Renji found himself grinning at the devious expression on Ichigo's face. "Sounds like a plan to me!" he replied

xxx

After two beers and six cups of sake, Renji's hair was fascinating, truly fascinating. The Red-head had taken it out of it's usual spiky ponytail and braided it loosely 'in case I'm too drunk to do it later'. Ichigo was carefully pouring himself his seventh cup when Renji suddenly stood up, swaying slightly. He had had far more to drink at that point, but Ichigo suspected that his tolerance was far better.

"I wanna explore!" Renji announced.

"Wha- why?" Ichigo asked.

"Because I haven't seen more of your house than your room and the kitchen!" Renji explained. "Show me around!"

"But-"

"And bring the sake!"

The plan of exploring seemed immediately more appealing to Ichigo. "Ok," he agreed, carefully screwing the top back on the sake bottle and standing up carefully. The room didn't spin, so he figured he was good. He couldn't feel the end of his nose, but he decided to worry about that later.

So, Ichigo showed Renji the surgery, the waiting room, the filing room where all the paperwork was kept, the stairs, Karen and Yuzu's room and his Dad's room, which was currently Orihime's room. Neither of them were particularly interested in the haircare products or the girlie magazines however, so after pointing out where the bathroom was, the duo retreated into Ichigo's room with the sake.

"How come you don't have a computer?" Renji asked, leaning back in Ichigo's desk chair.

"Never really wanted one," Ichigo replied, lying across the bed. "I don't play computer games, if I have an email to write I can use the office computer downstairs."

"What about looking at porn?"

Ichigo waved in the direction of his closet. "That's what magazines are for."

Renji's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "You let Rukia sleep in a closet that had porn stashed in it? Man, you've got balls."

"She never found it," Ichigo pointed out. "If you tell her I'll beat you up," he threatened as an afterthought.

Renji, meanwhile, was digging through the closet looking for the aforementioned porn, lifting up blankets and poking behind the pillows.

"Why do you want to find my porn stash?" Ichigo asked.

"Cause being this drunk makes me horny," Renji replied. "Wait a minute, is it straight porn? 'cause if it is I am SO not interested."

Ichigo blushed.

Renji stared at him, the alcohol soaking his brain making it harder to think than normal. Ichigo hadn't had a problem with talking about porn, had in fact pointed out where he kept his stash like it was nothing. But now he was blushing. He probably wouldn't have blushed if it were straight porn, he would have said something like 'of course it is you pervert'. That meant that it was gay porn. Which mean that Ichigo was gay.

Ichigo liked men.

Did Ichigo like him?

Ichigo was refusing to look at him, staring at the wall with flushed cheeks. Renji was pretty sure that that meant that Ichigo liked him.

There was only one way to find out.

Ichigo stiffened in shock as the mattress dipped, and rolled over to see what Renji was up to. He found that his nose was only an inch away from Renji's, Renji's dark eyes staring intently into his and, after a moment of shocked contemplation, Renji's lips were rough and warm and he tasted of alcohol and hot metal.

Ichigo closed his eyes and concentrated on the feel of chapped lips and warm tongue and the taste of sake. A groan vibrated through Renji's throat and he felt it because his hands were tangled in Renji's red, red hair – how had they got there – and Renji's tongue was twining around his and it felt so good, all warm and slick, and Renji was climbing onto the bed, all long limbs and muscle and sinew, no soft places at all, and Ichigo found that that was what he liked, smooth skin over hard muscles, and the strange texture of almost invisible healed scars under his fingertips – when had his hands pushed underneath Renji's t-shirt?

Renji made a strange strangled noise as their groins pressed together, but Ichigo couldn't think about that because it felt right to be pressed together but he had a feeling that it would be even better without the clothes in the way, but he couldn't figure out how he was going to get himself and Renji out of their clothes without moving apart from each other and he really, really didn't want to do that.

Renji took the decision away from him, pulling away and breaking the kiss to pull his t-shirt over his head, and putting one warm, strong arm around Ichigo to help him pull his own off. Renji's nipples were tight nubs against his chest, and his lips glistened as he grinned at Ichigo, leaning down to pick up the sake bottle and take a swig. There was a large bulge in the front of his jeans, and Ichigo reached for it, wanting to feel for himself if the heat he had felt earlier really had seeped through the denim.

He pressed his palm against Renji's denim clad erection at the same moment as Renji tipped the sake into his mouth. Renji chocked on the liquid and fell forward, but Ichigo was ready to catch the bottle before it spilled, and Renji quickly busied himself licking up the drops of sake that had splashed onto Ichigo's bare chest and Renji's tongue on his nipples seemed to send jolts of lightening down his body into his cock.

Renji had cleaned up all the sake, and Ichigo had taken a mouthful for himself, but Renji didn't stop kissing and licking his way downwards, and Ichigo could just see past the disheveled mess of Renji's hair, could just make out tanned hands working at unfastening his jeans, and it seemed like no time at all passed when suddenly his cock was bare and engulfed in the hot warmth of Renji's mouth.

He arched off of the bed and Renji gagged a little and pressed firmly on Ichigo's hips, pinning him to the bed. Ichigo stared at the ceiling and just felt as waves of pressure broke over him while Renji sucked, licked and kissed him until he was sure that he would explode.

Renji let up a little, panting and sending hot gusts of air over Ichigo's wet cock, making him shiver. Ichigo's head cleared enough to notice that Renji was rubbing himself through his jeans. He reached out and pulled at Renji's bent knee, guiding the taller man around until he was straddling Ichigo's face.

Renji moaned around Ichigo, making his hands tremble as he pulled the red-head's erection free of his underwear and began to pump it slowly, speeding up until he found the rhythm that made Renji's hips twitch and using his thumb to carefully spread the leaking precome around the sensitive head of Renji's cock.

It didn't take long before Ichigo was on the edge of orgasm again. He felt his hand tighten involuntarily around Renji as the waves of pleasure threatened to overwhelm him.

"Renji- I'm gonna-"

Renji grunted something that could have been an acknowledgment or could have been a famous quote, Ichigo had no idea and didn't care as the vibrations sent him straight over the edge. He retained just enough mental power to carry on stimulating Renji's erection as he shuddered. The redhead wasn't long to follow, turning around on shaky limbs and reaching for the tissues on Ichigo's desk to clean up the evidence. He missed when he tried to throw the tissue in the bin, but Ichigo was too sleepy to care.

"G'night," he muttered, burying his head in Renji's shoulder.

"Sweet dreams," Renji replied, kicking off his undone jeans and pulling the covers that had somehow been kicked to the end of the bed over the two of them.

Ichigo's last though as he drifted off to sleep, nice and warm and cuddly, was that that had been pretty good sake.

xxx

Slightly shamefaced and unable to look each other in the eye, Ichigo and Renji sat at opposite ends of the table and munched through large plates of toast, eggs and bacon. They each studiously avoided thinking about the reason why they were so unusually hungry that morning.

Ichigo was the first to break the slightly awkward silence that had fallen over the table. "So… what do you want to do today?"

Renji grinned self-consciously. "Um… try and figure out a way to change Kuchiki-taichou's mind?"

Ichigo nodded as he upended the ketchup bottle over a piece of toast piled high with fluffy eggs. It turned out that Ichigo knew how to scramble, and Renji knew how to fry bacon, so between them they had managed a reasonable breakfast from the food Yuzu had left. "I thought we could go see if Yoruichi was hanging around. I haven't seen her in Seireitei at all."

"Yeah, she might be here then. She knew Kuchiki-taicho when he was a kid, didn't she?"

"I think so." Ichigo raised the carefully balanced slice of toast to his mouth and took a large bite, managing to smear ketchup across his cheek in the process. Renji hid his grin behind a glass of orange juice.

"You have something on your face," he said, careful not to betray his amusement.

"Hm?" Ichigo asked, mouth stuffed full. The orange-haired teen swiped at his cheek, managing to completely miss the smear of sauce. Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Renji reached across the table and wiped it away with his thumb, freezing as he met Ichigo's deep brown eyes with his own. Very slowly, Renji pulled his hand back and licked the sauce off of his finger.

Perhaps this particular attraction was something that they wouldn't be able to ignore.

Two hours later, after a hurried shower each, they were clean and ready to leave for the Shop. Ichigo had a feeling that Tessai, Ururu and Jinta wouldn't be surprised to see them, as he was pretty sure that their joint reiatsu had been splashed all over Karakura the night before. In fact, Tessai would probably be waiting with hangover cure.

The shop looked deserted as they walked up the steps, but the door was unlocked and slid easily in the groove it had carved into the floor. Ichigo smiled to see that Jinta had fallen asleep at the edge of the floor, leaning on a broom that was propped against the steps. Quietly he tiptoed towards him, bending carefully to place his mouth next to the young red-head's ear.

"JINTA!" he yelled, as loudly as he could manage. Jinta started awake with a cry of shock, and Ichigo leapt back as he thrashed in alarm before falling on the floor. Glaring at the laughing pair, Jinta climbed back to his feet, using the broom as a prop, and dusted himself off.

"A bit late to be sleeping," Ichigo teased. Jinta frowned at him.

"I didn't get much sleep last night, due to certain people, who shall remain nameless, lighting up the town with reiatsu fireworks," he said snidely. Ichigo felt a blush spreading across his cheeks, and a quick glance to the left proved that Renji's face was also red.

The tattooed Shinigami strode forward, thumping Jinta on the head as he passed and toeing off his trainers at the bottom of the steps. "Is Yoruichi in?"

"Yeah, out back with Tessai. They're sampling the new tea shipment."

Raising an eyebrow at the unusual mental image that statement produced, Ichigo followed Renji into the back of the shop. They found Yoruichi and Tessai seated at the little round table, a stack of boxes piled haphazardly in the middle and various discarded tea cups littered over the floor. Three steaming kettles had been plugged into an extension lead that snaked across the room. Ichigo stepped over it cautiously, not wanting to trip and send boiling water splashing everywhere.

"Yo, Yoruichi-san!" Renji said cheerfully, sitting carefully in a cup-free spot on the floor.

"Try these," Yoruichi demanded, shoving two half full cups in his face. "Tell me if you can tell the difference between them, because they've been packaged as two different brands but they taste the same to me."

Renji sipped carefully from each cup, letting the flavour roll across his tongue. He tried not to remember that it had been his Captain that had taught him the proper way to enjoy tea. "They're different," he concluded. "The second one has a citrus after taste, the first one is more like vanilla."

"I've been drinking too much tea," Yoruichi grumbled. "What do you want, anyway?"

Ichigo and Renji took turns explaining what had happened to an apparently fascinated Yoruichi, while Tessai carried on making fresh cups of tea and sipping from each one. Once they had finished the tale, her dark golden eyes lit up with delight.

"Oooh, Bya-ko is being a stuck up prig!" she exclaimed in delight. "I shall pay him a visit."

"What are you doing to do?" Ichigo asked curiously.

Yoruichi winked at him before turning into her cat form. "That's for me to know and you to find out," she said as she stalked away.

Omake:

Skarla: *wails* I am so sorry for the wait everyone!

Renji: That's no excuse! You left the story in a terrible place!

Skarla: I know, I'm really sorry!

Ichigo: We could have got frostbite!

Skarla: Really sorry about the wait, faithful readers. I couldn't write the lemon at work, obviously, and it was weird to write it at home at first, and then there was Nanowrimo (which I completed! Yay!). But now November is over and so there is a new chapter. Please review anyway? ^_^


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Senkai gate appeared out of nothing, its screen doors lit mysteriously by the otherworldly light within. Without a sound, they slowly slid open and two silhouettes appeared, dark outlines blurred by the white light.

Ichigo and Renji sprinted through, Renji shouting over his shoulder. "If we really hurry we might catch up with Yoruichi-san and hear what she says to Byaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Renji skidded on a patch of slick ice just outside the gate and skidded uncontrollably into the nearest wall. Ichigo managed to prevent himself from following suit by windmilling his arms frantically in an effort to brake and falling on his arse.

The smooth frozen path reflected the falling snowflakes perfectly as it stretched to either side of the stunned Shinigami like a lake of glass, a gleaming example of the folly of rage against a snowstorm. Ichigo grinned, despite his bruised buttocks and swiftly numbing fingers. Yamamoto was probably kicking himself.

A panicked bellow came from the left and Renji pulled himself out of the snow-encrusted wall to see where it had come from. He was treated to the hilarious sight of Isshin attempting to run on the ice – he was only inching forwards as his sandals slipped on the surface – with a furious blue-haired Hirako Shinji advancing behind him, murder in his eyes. Shinji's careful steps were far more effective than Isshin's wild flailing and he was gaining ground faster than Isshin could flee.

"What the hell were you thinking you moron?" Shinji bellowed.

"It was Yachiru-chan's idea!" Isshin screamed back, redoubling his efforts on the slippery icde.

"Then why was the blue dye in your office?"

"How did you get into my office?"

"Kira-san let me in!"

"Oh my God, Masaki! Kira-kun BETRAYED me!" Tears began to stream down Isshin's face, although his legs never stopped moving.

"What are you talking about you senile old coot?" Shinji's flushed pink cheeks actually contrasted rather nicely with his cerulean hair, Renji noticed.

Isshin shook his head in protest. "I am not old!"

"OH, so you don't deny that you're a senile coot?"

Shinji finally caught up with Isshin, pounced, and the pair of them fell over in a heap of arms, legs and shihakushou..

Renji and Ichigo stared in amazement as Lisa calmly walked around the corner, stepping carefully in football boots. The cleats sank cleanly though the ice and she had evidently perfected the art of stamping with every step while appearing to walk daintily. She was wearing a typical girls school sports kit, although with matching woolly legwarmers.

"You're both idiots and we're going to be late," she said calmly, reaching into the writhing tangle and pulling both Captains up by their ears. "Welcome back, Abarai-fukutaicho, Kurosaki-fukutaicho."

Digging her cleats firmly into the ice, she began to drag the pair along behind her, Isshin trying desperately to get his feet under him. He had both hands clutching Lisa's wrist to ease the pressure on his ear, but his sandals were useless on the smooth surface. Shinji ignored his ear in favour of trying to reach Isshin's neck.

Renji looked to Ichigo just to check that he had seen the peculiar trio as well and that the whole scene hadn't been some strange hallucination caused by headbutting the snow-covered wall. Ichigo was shaking his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe my father," he announced, climbing carefully to his feet. "Come on, we're never going to catch Yoruichi-san now, but maybe we'll be in time to see the results."

Stepping carefully across the ice the pair headed in the direction of the Kuchiki mansion, following the frozen evidence of Yamamoto's annoyance with the snow.

xxx

Rukia stared into the frozen koi pond, trying to catch a glimpse of the fish beneath the thin ice. Snow was still falling, settling on her hair and shoulder, tangling in the fine strands of the scarf the housekeeper forced her to wear. The drifts of pure white that were inconveniencing everyone else comforted her. They meant that Toshiro truly cared for her, that the sweet romance that they had shared really had been real. Also, once the snow had got deep enough to disrupt the daily routines of the Divisions, it served as a constant reminder to her brother that his actions had consequences. She sometimes wondered if he had got so used to always having his own way that he had forgotten that. Hisana would have reminded him, but he seemed determined to forget all of the advice that she would surely have given him in favour of moping about the unavoidable manner of her death.

It also seemed that her adopted brother was determined for forget her. They had barely spoken to one another, she had insisted upon taking meals in her room after the disastrous dinner the second night. Byakuya had stared stonily out at his snow-encrusted garden the entire time. She had finally snapped and called him a hypocrite; the conversation had degenerated from there.

Snow dropped from the branches of one of the nearby cherry trees, making a surprisingly loud noise as the snow fell through the still air to hit the ice of the koi pond. Rukia turned to see if a bird had caused the disturbance, and was puzzled to find that the tree and indeed the rest of the garden, were empty apart from herself.

Moving closer to the tree, she saw a trail of paw prints in the snow, sets of two as if whatever animal had made them had been running rather than walking. Curious, she followed the trail with her eyes, wondering where it had come from.

She suddenly found herself face to face with Byakuya.

He had a definite flush over his cheekbones, and it took her a moment to realise that the ice prince of the Gotei 13, Kuckiki Byakuya, was blushing. Only supreme willpower and her current feelings of anger and resentment stopped her jaw from dropping in astonishment.

"Rukia," Byakuya started, looking resolutely at the trail of paw prints rather than at her face. "I... have been made to see the error of my earlier actions."

"What?" Rukia asked, completely confused.

"I... you have my permission... no, my blessing to, um, date whomever you choose. Within reason. Hitsugaya Toshiro, as you have pointed out, is both a prodigy and a Captain. My own choice of a partner was far less suitable. You may of course continue to serve under Ukitake-taicho in the thirteenth. I have no right to force you into the mould of the nobility. You did not choose to be adopted, and I should take that into account more often."

Rukia was astonished. "Thank you Nii-sama," she replied, falling back on formality as her brain reorganised itself. "I... would be willing to take some classes in dress and etiquette so as to be sure not to embarrass you if it ever became necessary for me to attend a formal gathering."

"I shall arrange something around your schedule of duties," Byakuya replied after a pause, the flush vanishing from his cheeks as if it had never been.

"That is acceptable." Rukia hardly dared believe that this conversation was taking place. A miracle of some sort must have happened – a miracle that had obviously brought Shihouin Yoruichi to put a flea in her brother's ear.

She suspected that a certain pair with brightly coloured hair were responsible. They had both been conspicuous by their absence the past two days.

"Well, if you will excuse me," she said politely as it appeared that Byakuya couldn't think of anything else to say. "I'd better go and see if I can do something about this snow."

xxx

Toshiro stared blankly out of the window, focusing on the snowflakes that fell from the grey sky rather than at the buildings. He had stopped sitting at his desk after the first day – he wasn't doing any work anyway and the view of the snowflakes was better from the windowsill. Matsumoto hadn't nagged him much, which he appreciated, but she had made a point of coming in every day to complete both her own paperwork and his. He had expected that she would take the opportunity to skive off, but no, her seldom seen loyalty as a Vice-captain had apparently been aroused by his depression.

He hadn't left his office, he couldn't see the point: he could watch the snow just as easily from the window there as he could from the window at home, and the window in the office had a wider sill. Matsumoto periodically left a cup of tea on the windowsill, the rising steam made a nice contrast to the falling snow.

He felt cold and empty inside; an ache that couldn't be soothed, merely endured.

Matsumoto was quietly packing up for the day, her exaggerated movement turning her usual careless grace into clumsiness, when he sense a change in the strands of Reiatsu that meshed over Seireitai He couldn't place why the change should have bothered him when nothing else did.

For the first time in days he looked past the snow, down to the street below, just in time to see a black clad figure with a white scarf draped around their neck walk around the corner, seeming to float on top of the snow that everyone else had been ploughing through. His breath caught in his throat.

Rukia.

Still in her Shinigami uniform and grinning like a maniac.

The stairs would have taken too long; Toshiro leapt out of the window.

Behind him, Matsumoto smiled and moved to the window her captain had stood in front of for so long. A ray of sunshine broke through the clouds and illuminated her face, warming the tip of her cold nose. She sighed in relief and picked up the empty cup that lay on it's side on the windowsill, its contends splattered on the snow underneath.

Ichigo and Renji struggled around the corner in pursuit of Rukia just as she threw herself into Toshiro's waiting arms with a cry of delight. They had arrived at the gates of the Kuchiki Mansion just in time to see her rush past them with a breathless 'thank you' as she sped towards the centre of the snowstorm.

"Yoruichi-san works fast," Ichigo muttered as they laboured to follow Rukia's light footprints.

Out of breath and shivering they leant against the nearest wall and enjoyed the strong sunshine that poured through the widening gaps between the snow clouds. Toshiro and Rukia were alternatively kissing and babbling at each other, both of them practically glowing with happiness.

"Bet she wouldn't be so happy if she knew that you let her sleep in a cupboard with porn in it," Renji said quietly.

"Idiot!" Ichigo hissed. "I thought that you promised never to mention that to anyone?"

Renji grinned arrogantly and folded his arms behind his head. "I had incentive then."

"What?"

"I wanted to get in your pants."

A wicked gleam entered Ichigo's eyes. "Well," he whispered, turning to slide his knee between Renji's thighs and wrapping one hand around Renji's neck, his thumb caressing the jagged black outline that marked the soft skin. "I'll just have to provide you with some more incentive then, won't I?"

The kiss was hot, messy, passionate and nosebleed inducing, as Lisa abruptly discovered when she walked around the corner. Dropping Isshin and Shinji's ears in favour of clapping both hands to her face, she decided that her self imposed mission to talk to Yamamoto about the ridiculous snow was no longer necessary. The sun had come out anyway, and she was pretty sure that the other two people in the street – that she was ignoring in favour of memorising every detail of the delicious image in front of her – were Hitsugaya and Kuchiki.

"Ichigo!" Isshin cried happily, one hand rubbing his ear. "No need to continue your noble efforts to... rescue... me... Masaki!" There was a thump as he keeled over in a dead faint.

"My, my," Shinji drawled, stepping up beside her. "Look at all the disgustingly happy couples. Isshin seeing his son liplocked with the redhead is enough revenge for me. Let's go."

"What? Where?" Lisa protested as Shinji dragged at her arm.

"To find a reputable hairdresser," Shinji replied, rolling his eyes. "Come on, you can oogle later."

"There might not be a later!" Lisa protested, still resisting.

Shinji frowned for a moment, then smiled. "We can set up surveillance equipment in their bedroom," he said. "Come on, Lisa. My hair, in case you hadn't noticed, is _blue_. We need to get it fixed before Hiyori finds out!"

Lisa sighed and pushed her glasses up. "I suppose you're right," she conceded grumpily. "We'd never hear the end of it."

"So glad you agree."

"Shut up."

xxx

Rukia was so happy that she felt like crying. Toshiro's warm arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and the ache within the pit of her stomach had finally been soothed. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I missed you," she confessed, knowing as she spoke that the words were inadequate, and the fact that they were inadequate was in itself ridiculous, seeing as they had had such a short time together before being separated.

"I missed you too," he replied, and she knew that he really had. She had tasted it in each snowflake that fell.

"Thank you for the snow."

"What?" Toshiro asked, a puzzled frown creasing his eyebrows. She snuggled closer.

"I walked in the gardens, and I could feel you through the snowflakes," she explained.

"I'm glad," Toshiro replied. "I didn't mean to make it snow, but as it happened anyway, I'm glad that it brought you comfort."

"It pissed my brother off too."

"Petty as it is, I have to admit that I'm glad of that as well." They laughed together, quietly, so as not to spoil the moment.

Rukia smiled as a though occurred to her. "After such a chilling example of what you can do I doubt anyone will mess with you ever again."

"Us," Toshiro said gently. "Mess with us."

"Yes," Rukia sighed happily. "Us."

"And that was really cheesy."

"I know."

Toshiro kissed her forehead before resting his own against hers, her warm breath washing against his lips. "Yamamoto-sou-taicho will probably want to lecture me."

"Well, you did freeze the entirety of Seireitai," Rukia pointed out reasonably.

"Regretting that now," Toshiro muttered. "By the time the old geezer's done with me I'll be toast!"

"Shall we go inside?" Rukia asked, pulling back and slipping her hand into his. "I want to continue somewhere a little less public."

"I didn't think you had a problem with public," Toshiro teased. Rukia punched his shoulder. "Ok, sorry! Let's go home then."

"Home?"

"Yes, my place. Home."

Ichigo and Renji watched the reunited couple walk away hand in hand, and grinned at each other.

"Mission complete!" Ichigo crowed.

"Hopefully all the snow will be gone by tomorrow. Now, what do we do about him?" Renji asked, indicating the prone form of Isshin. Ichigo shrugged.

"Leave him. He'll come around eventually, and then come looking for me."

Renji peeked at Ichigo out of the corner of his eye. "Want to hide out at my place for a while?" he asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Hell yeah!"

Fin.

Omake:

Renji: But... what about the sex?

Ichigo: Yeah, you didn't write the sex!

Skarla: Well... um... maybe you'll get a one-shot later?

Renji: *grumpily* It better be a good one!

Skarla: Anyway, this is the end of After the Storm. I'm glad I finally finished it! Thank you to all the readers who stuck it out all the way through, and greetings to any new readers. Any comments or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!


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